Design Procedure of a Low-Cost System for Energy Replenishment in a Quadrotor UAV through a Battery Exchange Mechanism

This paper describes the design and construction of an energy replenishment service station for a quadrotor. The prototype includes a small number of actuators, making it a low-cost solution. The system consists of three batteries: two charged and one discharged (within the quadrotor). Once the quad...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drones (Basel) 2023-04, Vol.7 (4), p.270
Main Authors: Lozano-Hernández, Yair, Martínez de la Cruz, Ismael, Gutiérrez-Frías, Octavio, Lozada-Castillo, Norma, Luviano-Juárez, Alberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuators
Batteries
battery swapping
Control algorithms
Design and construction
Discharge
Drone aircraft
Electric potential
enabling technologies
Energy consumption
Energy management systems
energy replenishment
Energy use
Exchanging
Fuel cells
Lasers
Low cost
Methods
Proposals
Replenishment
Service stations
Surveillance
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Voltage
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Summary:This paper describes the design and construction of an energy replenishment service station for a quadrotor. The prototype includes a small number of actuators, making it a low-cost solution. The system consists of three batteries: two charged and one discharged (within the quadrotor). Once the quadrotor lands, the battery with the highest charge is selected, which is then exchanged for the discharged battery. In order to perform this action, position control is used, in which the desired value depends on the location of the sensor that detects the highest voltage. In addition, the system has a mechanical design that facilitates the coupling of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the structure for battery exchange, ensuring that the discharged battery is always in the same position. Furthermore, the design of a mechanism to release and hold the battery placed in the quadrotor is presented, which works by means of voltage and force sensors that identify the instant that the battery is discharged and when the UAV has landed on the exchange platform, thus initiating the exchange process. Likewise, the criteria for selecting the elements used, acquiring and processing signals, and routines for changing batteries are detailed.
ISSN:2504-446X
2504-446X
DOI:10.3390/drones7040270