Abstract

Multirotor UAVs have in recent years become a trend among academics, engineers and hobbyists alike due to their mechanical simplicity and availability. Commercial uses range from surveillance to recreational flight with plenty of research being conducted in regards to design and control. With applications towards search and rescue missions in mind, the main objec-tive of this thesis work is the development of a mechanical design and control algo-rithm aimed at maximizing wind resistance. To these ends, an advanced multirotor simulator, based on helicopter theory, has been developed to give an accurate de-scription of the flight dynamics. Controllers are then designed and tuned to stabilize the attitude and position of the UAV followed by a discussion regarding disturbance attenuation. In order to study the impact of different design setups, the UAV model is con-structed so that physical properties can be scaled. Parameter influence is then inves-tigated for a specified wind test using a Design of Experiments methodology. These results are combined with a concept generation process and evaluated with a con-trol engineering approach. It was concluded that the proposed final design should incorporate a compact three-armed airframe with six rotors configured coaxially. 3