Design, Flight Dynamics and Control of Robotic Boomerang

Design, flight dynamics and control of a robotic boomerang has been analyzed numerically through a flight dynamic simulation developed for this purpose. The paper consists of two parts- 1) flight dynamic simulation and control and 2) design performance analysis. In the first part, the flight dynamic simulation developed is qualitatively validated using experimental measurements, followed by development of a PID based controller to demonstrate simple flight maneuvers in simulation. In the second part, a parametric design analysis has been conducted to study the effect of planform geometry, blade taper, twist, precone angle and CG location on hover performance. The performance trends for taper and solidity differ from the those observed in conventional helicopter type vehicles. This difference in performance trends possibly occurs due to high amount of drag acting over the bluff body components like battery spinning along with the blades. Using the results from design analysis, a more efficient model for the boomerang can be designed and fabricated.