Control, Propulsion and Energy Assessment of a Spherical UAS for Low Speed Operations

This paper presents a comparison between different hypotheses of propulsion of a spherical UAS. Different architectures have been analyzed assessing their specific aerodynamic, energetic, and flight mechanics features. The comparison has been performed assuming the robustness of flight control in different wind conditions, defining for each the specific operative ranges, mission profiles, and energy assessment. An effective energy assessment and comparison against a commercial UAS has been produced. Even if the paper considers a preliminary simplified configuration, it demonstrates clearly to be competitive against traditional quadcopters in a predefined reference mission.