A Fuzzy Controller to Reduce Power Consumption in a Quadrotor Helicopter for Environmental Monitoring

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are aircrafts with no pilot on board. They can be remote controlled aircraft (e.g. flown by a pilot at a ground control station) or can fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic automation systems. UAVs are currently used both in military and civil application. A key element of UAV equipment affecting the mission performance is power source for this reason several approaches can be applied in order to reduce the power consumption. Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLCs) are becoming increasingly popular in everyday life and their applications can obtain significant benefits in terms of energy management. In this paper a FLC is proposed in order to regulate the motor power of a quadrotor helicopter according to the battery level and to the path to complete. Simulation results reveal that using the proposed approach the battery lifetime is increased by 30% with respect to the use of fixed power.