Model based UAV autopilot tuning

The paper presents the role of Autopilots in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and the process of their configuration before flying can occur. The common autopilot architecture, emphasising the control module, is given shortly and the functionality of the commercially available UAV autopilot "Micropilot MP2028", used for initial flights of the first Slovenian UAV "Karantanija", is summarised in a table. Furthermore, the development of the 3 degrees-of-freedom aircraft motion simulator is presented. The motion simulator was developed and used as a test bench in attempt to tailor autopilot's flight dynamics to "Karantanija" UAV even before the actual first unmanned flight. The author presents the evolution of the motion simulator which was first used in open-loop configuration and later adapted for Hardware-in-the-Loop simulations using actual autopilot hardware. Once completed, the equipment was used to evaluate UAV's (autopilots) capability to carry-out the required mission in case of various sensor failures in different stages of flight. The paper also presents the anticipated behaviour of the aircraft following an engine failure in two different autopilot altitude handling modes, based on the experiment with the 3 degrees-of-freedom motion platform. Benefits, future possibilities of use and further development of the aircraft motion simulator are discussed in the conclusion.