Towards the Design of a Fully Actuated Invertible Flying Quadrotor MAV

In this paper, we present the transmission mechanism design for a fully actuated Invertible Flying Quadrotor (IFQ) micro aerial vehicle (MAV). At the heart of the mechanism is a gearbox which couples and counter rotates two pairs of shafts that have the quadrotor propellers mounted at their ends. This mechanism will allow for the IFQ to follow aggressive maneuvers, hover at an arbitrary attitude, and have sustained inverted flight capabilities. The paper presents the mechanical design challenges and solutions in designing such a transmission mechanism with minimal weight along with low cost and easy manufacturing. The dynamic model for the IFQ MAV is presented along with an optimal open loop trajectory control scheme and related simulations. An approach for a full closed loop control scheme is also discussed. A prototype of the mechanism has been manufactured and functionally tested. The entire transmission mechanism was able to be prototyped with a weight of only approximately 100 grams.