Design and control of wall-attaching and moving quadcopter using flaps

This study proposed a quadcopter equipped with flaps designed to attach to and move along walls, enabling safe photography of square-shaped bridge piers. It was verified through experiments whether flaps can generate sufficient and continuous force in the direction of the wall. Additionally, a mathematical model of the quadcopter with flaps was developed using lift and drag measurement data. Through simulations, it was confirmed that the drone could be controlled using the lift generated by the flaps. A prototype quadcopter with applied flaps was then created. An algorithm for processing essential sensor signals, such as attitude and speed, was presented for effective quadcopter control. Moreover, an algorithm utilizing two distance sensors was proposed to measure the angle and distance between the quadcopter and the wall. A controller was also designed to effectively manage the speed and yaw angle of the quadcopter. The developed quadcopter was validated through real experiments, demonstrating its ability to attach to walls and move along the bridge structure.