The MiniHawk-VTOL: Design, Modeling, and Experiments of a Rapidly-prototyped Tiltrotor UAV

This work addresses the rapidly-prototyped design of a small Tricopter/Fixed-Wing Vertical Take-Off and Landing UAS with solar-recharge-capability, capable of repeatedly landing, recharging, and taking off, without need for physical intervention or externally placed maintenance devices or platforms. The design uses Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printing to rapidly prototype and fabricate the majority of the aircraft structures and parts. Provisions are made for carrying high-level single board computing solutions, or other similar payloads. Details are provided for mechanisms, aerodynamic geometry, solar cell integration and manufacturability. The design is analyzed to estimate inertial moments, aerodynamic performance, and static and dynamic stability. Simulation models for the Gazebo and RealFlight environments are provided, targeting Software-In-The-Loop architectures that run the ArduPilot and PX4 flight stacks. A flight testing methodology is developed, and results are presented with multiple prototype vehicles constructed. We finally contribute all production definitions, files, and models as open-access resources, with the goal of supporting and promoting migratory/swarming behavior and autonomy research.