Solar powered UAV: Design and experiments

Scott Morton; Ruben D'Sa; Nikolaos P Papanikolopoulos

doi:10.1109/IROS.2015.7353711

Solar powered UAV: Design and experiments

Scott Morton
, Ruben D'Sa
, Nikolaos P Papanikolopoulos

Computer Science and Engineering

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

116 Scopus citations

Abstract

Unmanned solar powered aircraft offer a unique set of advanced capabilities and have set general aviation records for longest continuous flight and greatest sustained altitude. However, the application of solar powered flight to small scale solar powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has seen sparse research activity and is only partially explored. The use of solar power as an energy resource allows small scale UAVs to carry heavier, more powerful sensor payloads, and can extend flight times to over 24 hours, thereby achieving multi-day flight. This work focuses on recent developments by the Center for Distributed Robotics on a four meter wingspan solar UAV designed for low altitude aerial sensing applications. Highlighted in this paper are aspects of airframe, propulsion, and electronics hardware design as well as experiments that quantify the solar power system and airframe performance.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	IROS Hamburg 2015 - Conference Digest
Subtitle of host publication	IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	2460-2466
Number of pages	7
ISBN (Electronic)	9781479999941
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353711
State	Published - Dec 11 2015
Event	IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2015 - Hamburg, Germany Duration: Sep 28 2015 → Oct 2 2015

Publication series

Name	IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
Volume	2015-December
ISSN (Print)	2153-0858
ISSN (Electronic)	2153-0866

Other

Other	IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2015
Country/Territory	Germany
City	Hamburg
Period	9/28/15 → 10/2/15

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 IEEE.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Publisher link

10.1109/IROS.2015.7353711

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Morton, S., D'Sa, R., & Papanikolopoulos, N. P. (2015). Solar powered UAV: Design and experiments. In IROS Hamburg 2015 - Conference Digest: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (pp. 2460-2466). Article 7353711 (IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems; Vol. 2015-December). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353711

Solar powered UAV: Design and experiments. / Morton, Scott; D'Sa, Ruben; Papanikolopoulos, Nikolaos P.
IROS Hamburg 2015 - Conference Digest: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2015. p. 2460-2466 7353711 (IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems; Vol. 2015-December).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Morton, S, D'Sa, R & Papanikolopoulos, NP 2015, Solar powered UAV: Design and experiments. in IROS Hamburg 2015 - Conference Digest: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems., 7353711, IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, vol. 2015-December, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 2460-2466, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2015, Hamburg, Germany, 9/28/15. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353711

Morton S, D'Sa R, Papanikolopoulos NP. Solar powered UAV: Design and experiments. In IROS Hamburg 2015 - Conference Digest: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2015. p. 2460-2466. 7353711. (IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems). doi: 10.1109/IROS.2015.7353711

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Solar powered UAV: Design and experiments

Abstract

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Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

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