Motion Control and Power Distribution of H-Shaped Multi-Modal Transformable Rotorcraft
Xuqiao Wang, Da Guo, Changli Zhao, Menghao Duan, Qijun Luo
AI summary
Problem
Transformable rotorcraft face critical stability challenges during dynamic reconfiguration due to time-varying centers of gravity, body misalignment, and a lack of unified control strategies, severely limiting their operational capability in confined or fault-prone environments.
Approach
The authors designed an H-shaped airframe with six controllable degrees of freedom that stabilizes the center of gravity during morphing, combined with a control parameter tuning method based on motion characteristic values and a competence-based power distribution strategy to manage asymmetric thrust during configuration changes.
Key results
- Achieves position deviation under 4 cm in constrained spaces
- Reduces lateral width by over 50% for narrow-gap passage
- Switches to fault-tolerant configuration in 1.2 s after single-propeller failure
- Maintains stable flight and torque output during dynamic morphing
Why it matters
Enables reliable, multi-scenario aerial operations in complex or failure-prone environments by bridging the gap between structural flexibility and flight stability.
Abstract
Multilink transformable rotorcraft demonstrate exceptional flexibility when navigating confined spaces, yet face critical challenges including time-varying center of grav- ity, body misalignment, and the absence of a unified con- trol strategy during dynamic reconfiguration, which severely restrict motion continuity and operational capability. To address these limitations, we propose an H-shaped multi- modal transformable rotorcraft. Its novelty lies in utilizing a designed H-shaped variable structure with 6 controllable degrees of freedom (CDOF), achieving a balance between structural flexibility and the resolution of time-varying center- of-gravity limitations. It proposes a control parameter tuning method based on motion characteristic values and a power distribution route based on the principle of competence. Under limited computational overhead, it realizes narrow- gap flight and single-propeller power failure response through dynamic configuration reconstruction. Experimental results demonstrate that our platform successfully overcomes sta- bility challenges, achieving a position deviation of less than 4 cm when traversing constrained spaces, it can reduce its lateral width by more than 50% , and can switch to a fault- tolerant configuration within 1.2 s to respond to sudden single-propeller power failures while maintaining stable flight. Additionally, it possesses torque output capability for twist operations during manipulation tasks. The H-shaped trans- formable rotorcraft enables multi-modal morphing control and smooth power transitions, providing a versatile platform for multi-scenario flight operations.