THEORETICAL ANALYSIS of
QUADROTORS
Vigneshram.B1, Prof Amit Patwardhan2, Prof Rabinder Henry3
School of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, International Institute of Information Technology
Pune, India
1vigneshramb_june09@sost.isquareit.ac.in
2amitp@isquareit.ac.in
3rabinderh@isquareit.ac.in
Abstract— Quadrotor helicopters are an emerging rotorcraft
concept for UAV platforms due to the simplicity of their
construction and maintenance, their ability to hover and their
vertical take off and landing (VTOL) capability. Since these are
unmanned aircrafts the possibility of collisions during flight has
to be considered. This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the
quadrotors and seeks to address the above-mentioned issue.
Keywords—BLDC, Quadrotor helicopter, UAV, Ultrasonic
sensor, VTOL
I. INTRODUCTION
A quadrotor, also called a quadrotor helicopter, is an
aircraft that is lifted and propelled by four rotors. Quadrotors
are classified as rotorcraft, as opposed to fixed-wing aircraft,
because their lift is derived from four rotors. They can also be
classified as helicopters, but unlike standard helicopters they
use fixed-pitch blades, whose angle of attack does not vary as
the blades rotate. Control of vehicle motion can be achieved
by varying the relative speed of each rotor.
The first successful Quadrotors flew in 1920’s, but no
practical quadrotors have been built until recently, largely due
to the difficulty in controlling four rotors simultaneously.
Recently, the advancements in microprocessor capabilities
and in sensors have initiated a series of RC (radio controlled)
quadrotor toys.
Quadrotor helicopters are emerging rotorcraft concepts for
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms. The vehicle
consists of four rotors in total, with one pair rotating in clock-
wise direction while the other in counter clock-wise direction.
The rotors are made of fixed-pitch blades and are located at
the four corners of the aircraft. Due to its specific capabilities,
uses of autonomous quadrotor vehicles have been envisaged
for a variety of applications including surveillance, search and
rescue and mobile sensor networks [1].
The particular interest in the quadrotor design can be
attributed to two main advantages over comparable vertical
takeoff and landing (VTOL) helicopters. First, quadrotors do
not require complex mechanical control linkages for rotor
actuation. They rely on fixed-pitch rotors that use variation in
motor speed for vehicle control, thus simplifying both the
design and maintenance of the vehicle. Second, the use of four
rotors ensures that each individual rotor is smaller in diameter
when compared with the equivalent main rotor of a helicopter,
relative to the airframe size. The individual rotors, therefore,
store less kinetic energy during flight. This mitigates the risk
posed by the rotors should they entrain any objects during
flight. Furthermore, the rotors are enclosed within a frame,
thus protecting them from breaking during collisions [2].
II. STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW
The following are the main structural components of a
quadrotor:
A) DC Motor- Electric motors also find extensive
applications in robotics. They are used to turn the
wheels of vehicular robots, and servomotors are used
to turn arms and legs in humanoid robots. In flying
robots, along with helicopters, a motor causes a
propeller to spin and create lift force, allowing vertical
motion. By far the most common DC motor types are
brushed and brushless types.
A brushless DC (BLDC) motor [3] is a
synchronous electric motor which is powered by direct
current electricity. It has an electronically controlled
commutation system, instead of a mechanical
commutation system based on brushes [4]. In such
motors, current and torque, voltage and rpm are
linearly related. BLDC motors offer several advantages
over brushed DC motors including higher efficiency
and reliability, reduced noise, longer lifetime (no brush
erosion), elimination of ionising sparks from
commutator, more power and overall reduction in
electromagnetic interference [5].
B) Propeller- A propeller is a type of fan which transmits
power by converting rotational motion into thrust. It
consists of one or more blades about a central shaft and
operates like a rotating screw. A pressure difference
between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil
shaped blades is produced and air accelerated behind
the blade.
C) Arm- The arms of a quadrotor aircraft has to be light
and strong enough to withstand the stress and strain
caused by the weight of the motors and the central hub
at their opposite ends. Carbon fiber is considered the
 best choice because of its weight to strength ratio. The
length of each arm is based on the propellers and has to
be chosen such that there is enough room for each
propeller to spin without encountering turbulence from
one another.
D) Battery- The battery is chosen on the basis of power
requirements. A lithium-ion polymer variety is
generally used for this purpose as it provides the best
power-to-weight ratio.
E) Central Hub- The central hub carries all the
electronics, battery and the sensors. It sits lower than
the four motors. This brings the center of gravity
downwards, which inturn provides stability.
F) Sensors- Gyroscopes and XY accelerometer sensors
are used. A gyroscope is used to measure the
orientation with respect to a particular axis (yaw rate
while in flight), while the tilt sensors provide X and Y
output signals [6].
III. FLIGHT MECHANISM AND CONTROL
Each rotor produces both a thrust and torque about its
centre of rotation, as well as a drag force. If all rotors are
spinning at the same angular velocity, with a pair rotating in
clock-wise and the other pair rotating in counter clock-wise
direction, the net aerodynamic torque, and hence the angular
acceleration about the yaw axis is exactly zero. This implies
that the yaw stabilizing rotor of conventional helicopters is not
required.
Angular accelerations about the pitch and roll axes can be
caused separately without affecting the yaw axis. Each pair of
blades rotating in the same direction controls one axis, either
pitch or roll. Increasing the thrust for one rotor while
decreasing it for the other will maintain the torque balance
needed for yaw stability and induce a net torque about the roll
or pitch axes. This way, fixed rotor blades can be made to
manoeuvre the quad rotor vehicle in all directions [7].
SENSORS OPERATOR INPUTS
CONTROLLER
PWM DRIVER MOTOR
Fig. 1 A sample control system schematic
IV. EXISTING QUADROTOR PLATFORMS
Several quadrotor crafts have been developed recently, for
use as a toy or for research. Many research quadrotors began
life as a commercially available toy, such as the HMX-4 and
RCtoys’ draganflyer [8]. These aircrafts consists of light
airframes and plastic rotors. They are powered by NiCd or Li-
poly cells and use rate feedback from MEMS gyros.
The recent advent of miniature electronics enabled the
creation of Roswell flyer, the first RC X4 flyer from Area
Fifty-One Technologies in 1996. Keyence [9] also developed
two RC sized X4 flyers known as the Engager and
Gyrosaucer. The increased availability has spurred interest in
their automation.
On an industrial scale, there is currently a project in
development named the Bell Boeing Quad TiltRotor (QTR). It
is a large-scale, government-sponsored, quadrotor aircraft
currently in development as a joint venture between Bell
Helicopter Textron and Boeing Integrated Defense systems.
The project is the largest-scale of all existing projects with a
capacity of a hundred and fifty passengers.
All modern quadrotors, with the exception of QTR concept,
are UAVs. A limited number of quadrotors have become
commercially available, some as toys while others are
marketed as low cost surveillance platforms.
V. DESIGN PROPOSAL
This paper suggests the use of ultrasonic sensors in the
quadrotor models. Since the Quadrotor platform is most likely
to be employed in an UAV, the possibility of the aircraft
entraining any objects during flight has to be seriously
considered. For this purpose, the usage of ultrasonic sensors
will provide a stability possibility and also makes it act on its
own. Ultrasonic sensors are used to detect the presence of
targets as well as obstacles and also can measure their
distances in order to reach them or avoid them respectively.
A. Ultrasonic Sensors
Ultrasonic sensors (also known as transceivers when they
both send and receive) work on a principle similar to radar or
sonar which evaluates the attributes of a target by interpreting
the echoes from radio or sound waves respectively. Ultrasonic
sensors generate high frequency sound waves and evaluate the
echo which is received back by the sensor. Sensors calculate
the time interval between sending the signal and receiving the
echo to determine the distance to an object. Systems typically
use a transducer which generates sound waves in the
ultrasonic range, above 20,000 hertz, by turning electrical
energy into sound, then upon receiving the echo turn the
sound waves into electrical energy which can be measured
and displayed.
B. Transducers and Detectors
An ultrasonic transducer is a device that converts energy
into ultrasound, or sound waves above the normal range of
human hearing. Piezoelectric transducers convert electrical
energy into sound. Piezoelectric crystals have the property of
changing size when a voltage is applied.
Since piezoelectric crystals generate a voltage when force
is applied to them, the same crystal can be used as an
ultrasonic detector. Some systems use separate transmitter and
receiver components while others combine both in a single Rotorcraft for Multi Agent Control (STARMAC),” In proceedings of
the 23rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference, Salt Lake City, UT,
piezoelectric transceiver. November 2004.
[2] Nice, E.B., Design of a Four Rotor Hovering Vehicle, Master’s thesis,
VI. CONCLUSION Cornell University, 2004
Since quadrotor helicopters find extensive applications in [3] Roche, S.G., Investigation of Performance Improvements for a
Quadrotor UAV, Master’s Thesis, Cranfield University, 2007
UAVs, the risk posed by these aircrafts in entraining any [4] “Brushless DC Motors-“ http://www.rctoys.com/rc-products-
objects during flight has to be considered. This paper suggests catalog/RC-PARTS-BRUSHLESS-MOTORS.html
a method by which this issue could be addressed, thus making [5] “Brushless DC Motors-” http://www.e-bikekit.com/
them more reliable. [6] Canetta, C., Chin, J., Mehrabian, S., Montejo, L., Thompson, H.,
Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Master’s Thesis, Columbia
University, 2007
ACKNOWLEDGMENT [7] Pounds, P., Mahony, R., Corke, P., “Modelling and Control of a
The authors would like thank friends and staff for their Quadrotor Robot”, In the Proceedings of the Australasian Conference
encouragement and guidance. on Robotics and Automation, 2006.
[8] Draganfly Innovations Inc. Home Page, http://www.rctoys.com
[9] Keyence Hi Tech, http://www.keyence.co.jp/hobby/english/saucer.html
REFERENCES
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