AeroVect-VTOL bridges the gap between rotary-wing hover versatility and fixed-wing long-endurance flight. Featuring a tri-tilt-rotor carbon-composite airframe, the aircraft takes off vertically in helicopter mode, transitions forward into wing-borne aerodynamic cruise at 85 km/h, and reconverts for autonomous precision landing in tight, unprepared clearings without requiring runways or launch catapults.
Multi-rotor drones offer vertical takeoff but suffer from severe flight time limitations (< 30 minutes) and small operational coverage due to low aerodynamic efficiency. Conversely, conventional fixed-wing UAVs provide long endurance but require extensive runways, launch catapults, or parachute retrieval systems, making deployment impossible in rugged mountainous, urban, or maritime environments.
Construct a lightweight carbon-composite tilt-rotor airframe with a 2.1-meter wingspan capable of carrying a 1.5 kg sensor payload.
Design and program a gain-scheduling flight controller that manages continuous non-linear aerodynamic cross-coupling during the critical 15-second hover-to-cruise transition.
Implement downward-facing optical flow and LiDAR terrain matching to execute autonomous precision landings in GPS-denied landing zones.
Achieve a flight endurance exceeding 75 minutes with an operational range of over 45 kilometers.
The flight control architecture divides the flight envelope into four distinct operational regimes:
- Airframe: Aerodynamically optimized blended wing-body built from vacuum-bagged carbon fiber and Kevlar reinforcements (Total AUW: 4.8 kg).
- Propulsion: Three high-efficiency brushless outrunner motors mounted on titanium-pinioned digital robotic tilt-servos with custom carbon propellers.
- Flight Controller: Pixhawk 6X autopilot running custom-tuned ArduPilot firmware with dual redundant IMUs and barometers.
- Vision Computer: Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with a global-shutter downward camera running OpenCV optical flow and AprilTag marker tracking.
- Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL): Transition stability tuned using X-Plane 11 and JSBSim high-fidelity aerodynamic flight models.
- Flight Testing: Over 40 hours of flight testing comprising 85 complete automated transition cycles under varying crosswind conditions (up to 28 km/h).
- Telemetry Analysis: Logged control surface deflections, pitch/roll excursions, battery current draw, and airspeed pitot measurements.
During fixed-wing cruise, the vehicle monitors battery status and geo-fence boundaries. Upon reaching the target recon point, the aircraft commands tilt-rotor nacelles upward, activates downward optical flow, locks onto a moving maritime vessel or ground vehicle, and performs a soft vertical touchdown within 20 centimeters of target center.
Flight trials systematically measured power consumption differences between rotary hover (480 W) and wing-borne cruise (115 W), proving a 4.1x aerodynamic efficiency multiplier. Transition envelope boundaries were mapped against wind gusts.
- Total Flight Endurance: 82 minutes on a 6S 22,000mAh Li-Ion battery pack.
- Maximum Cruise Airspeed: 104 km/h; Stall Speed: 42 km/h.
- Landing Target Accuracy: Mean offset of 14.2 cm from target marker center.
- Transition Stability: Pitch variation kept under ±3.5 degrees during active rotor tilting.
- Hardware: Carbon Fiber Composite Airframe, Pixhawk 6X Autopilot, KDE Direct Brushless Motors, CM4 Companion Computer, Microhard 2.4GHz Telemetry.
- Software: C++, ArduPilot, OpenCV, ROS2, QGroundControl, Mission Planner, MATLAB/Simulink.
Complete CFD aerodynamic simulation package and airfoil polar analysis reports.
Tuned ArduPilot PID and transition gain-scheduling parameters for tilt-rotor airframes.
Python optical flow and visual marker landing tracking computer vision codebase.
Comprehensive flight log database and high-definition aerial mapping test results.
Long-range maritime search and rescue, pipeline and powerline corridor inspection, remote medical supply delivery to island/mountain clinics, and tactical defense reconnaissance.
Flight operations followed strict safety envelopes with dual-stage automated return-to-launch (RTL) routines triggered upon radio loss, battery voltage threshold, or geofence violation.
A fully operational, field-tested hybrid VTOL aircraft demonstrating smooth automated transitions, 80+ minute flight endurance, and centimeter-accurate autonomous vertical landing capability.
Integrating hydrogen fuel-cell powerplants for 4+ hour flight times, and adding forward-facing stereo vision for real-time tree and powerline obstacle avoidance during low-altitude terrain following.
Combining vertical takeoff versatility with high-efficiency fixed-wing cruise for long-range autonomous aerial missions.
An autonomous hybrid tilt-rotor fixed-wing UAV platform featuring custom aerodynamic transition control and optical flow precision landing, achieving over 80 minutes of flight endurance without runways.
