Study form: Fulltime
Course language: English
The course is dedicated to students interested in unmanned aerial systems (UASs). It includes lectures aimed at airplane construction, engines, sensors, electronic systems servos, control electronics, control algorithms and one course presents law issues related to UASs from the flight approval and control perspectives. The course is extended with an educational excursion to relevant laboratories. Seminar projects are related to Procerus UAV in the field of sensor data processing including participation on the experimental flight.
unmanned aerial systems, construction and other components of unmanned aerial systems, control algorithms for unmanned aerial systems
1. Introduction, demonstration of advanced control
algorithms, multi-agent planning, sensor systems. Brief
history of unmanned systems.
2. Materials and construction of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Laminates, composites. Construction of the body and wings.
Issues related to stiffness and elasticity.
3. Engines for UAVs. Piston engine, engines with piston
rotary design. Small combustion turbine. Small jet engine.
Examples of selection of suitable engines for specific UAV
4. MEMS and SMART inertial sensors for UAVs - data
acquisition, MEMS, smart sensors, data processing and data
fusion. GPS, INS and aerometric systems from the user point
of view. Redundancy and security of the system.
5. Basic control loops for individual modes of airplane's
auto-pilot. The control of take-off, adjustment of dynamics
following a trajectory, holding patterns over a ground
target, tracking of moving object on the ground.
6. Approach and landing.
7. Advanced algorithms for control systems design - optimal
and robust control systems.
8. Telemetry for unmanned aerial systems - communication
modems, protocols, security and antennas.
9. Flight trajectory planning - optimal trajectory, no-
flight zones, planning criterion - fuel/power consumption,
10. Autonomous collision avoidance for UAVs - cooperative
and non-cooperative methods, AgentFly system.
11. Multi-UAV control algorithms - flight formation,
12. Add-on devices - stabilized platforms, optical systems,
localizers, rangefinders, image processing.
13. Legal issues related to operation of UAVs in Czech
Republic and Europe.
1. Examples of different types of unmanned aerial systems.
2. Discussion on the selection of a suitable engine for
unmanned aerial system.
3. Excursion (three different excursions within three
seminars) - material testing, wind tunnel, UAVs projects in
Czech Republic - Sojka, Mamok, Vilik and others.
6. Identification of the model (aerodynamic coefficients)
from the flight data.
7. Design of a basic control loop of autopilot.
8. Simulator - Integrated Modular Avionics testbed.
9. Introduction and selection of semester tasks.
10. Working in teams on the assigned tasks.
11. Working in teams on the assigned tasks.
12. Working in teams on the assigned tasks.
13. Working in teams on the assigned tasks.
14. Final presentation of semester tasks' results,
discussions, ratings and credit.
 Dalamagkidis K., Valavanis K. P., Piegl L. A.: On
Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems Into the National
Airspace System, Springer, 2009
 Musial M.: System Architecture of Small Autonomous UAVs
(Paperback), VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller e.K. 2008
 Hasik J.: Arms and Innovation: Entrepreneurship and
Alliances in the Twenty-First-Century Defense Industry, The
university of Chicago Press, 2008
 Newcome L. R.: Unmanned aviation: a brief history of
unmanned aerial vehicles, AIAA, 2004
 Nolan M. S.: Fundamentals of Air Traffic Control,
Thompson Brooks/Cole, 2004
 Cutler J.: Understanding Aircraft Structures