Open Gimbal: A 3 Degrees of Freedom Open Source Sensing and Testing Platform for Nano and Micro UAVs

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
125 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Testing the aerodynamics of micro-UAVs (mUAVs) and nano-UAVs (nUAVs) without actually flying is highly challenging. To address this issue, we introduce Open Gimbal, a specially designed 3 degrees of freedom (DoF) platform that caters to the unique requirements of mUAVs and nUAVs. This platform allows for unrestricted and free rotational motion, enabling comprehensive experimentation and evaluation of these UAVs. Our approach focuses on simplicity and accessibility. We developed an open-source, 3-D printable electromechanical design that has minimal size and low complexity. This design facilitates easy replication and customization, making it widely accessible to researchers and developers. Addressing the challenges of sensing flight dynamics at a small scale, we have devised an integrated wireless batteryless sensor subsystem. Our innovative solution eliminates the need for complex wiring and instead uses wireless power transfer for sensor data reception. To validate the effectiveness of open gimbal, we thoroughly evaluate and test its communication link and sensing performance using a typical nanoquadrotor. Through comprehensive testing, we verify the reliability and accuracy of open gimbal in real-world scenarios. These advancements provide valuable tools and insights for researchers and developers working with mUAVs and nUAVs, contributing to the progress of this rapidly evolving field.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2502704
Pages (from-to)1-4
Number of pages4
JournalIEEE Sensors Letters
Volume7
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care
Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Keywords

  • Antennas
  • Autonomous aerial vehicles
  • Batteryless sensing
  • gimbal
  • gyroscopic testbed
  • nano UAV
  • Radiofrequency identification
  • Sensors
  • Three-dimensional displays
  • Wireless communication
  • wireless sensor
  • Wireless sensor networks

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Open Gimbal: A 3 Degrees of Freedom Open Source Sensing and Testing Platform for Nano and Micro UAVs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this