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Permalink Reply by Tom on November 15, 2010 at 2:12am

Hi Brian, can JSBSim be used to simulate quadrocopters? Can brushless propellers be simulated (JSBSim's flyer says nothing about it).

I'm looking for a way to simulate and visualize a quadrotor equipped with many sensors to be able to design a FCS basing mainly on visual input. I've currently been (and still am) reading about ROS and Player/Stage and still don't know which would be the one I should take.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Mills on November 15, 2010 at 8:19am

Hi Tom,

Provided that a quadcopter model existed (or you could create one) it is perhaps possible to do exactly what you want with the S-Function ONCE the project is made compatible with the newer CVS version of JSBSim. I say it is "perhaps" possible because it's my understanding that JSBSim has not been very good at simulating rotary-wing aircraft. Recently though, there have been some updates to JSBSim that should improve the rotary-wing dynamics, however the S-Function is not yet compatible with this newer version - we are working on that :).

I think I may forward this question to Jon Berndt (JSBSim developer) and see how well a small quad-copter could be modeled in JSBSim...

Out of curiosity, why not use one of the many, inexpensive IMU units now being sold instead of the visual sensors? Are the visual sensors a better way of providing attitude and rate info for a FCS, or are they used togethor with traditional gyros and accelerometers? My experience is with fixed-wing aircraft so the quad-copter is something new for me.

Brian

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Permalink Reply by Tom on November 15, 2010 at 9:07am

Thanks for your answer Brian.

Regarding your question: quadrotors work very well with IMU's, so I'd definitely take one if it was just about working :). It's more about a proof of concept, though. Visual sensors are a 2-in-1 solution if miniaturization is concerned as future work (they provide visual information for human operator and let the FCS do the stabilization), see DelFly, take a look at Centeye's cameras (which will serve as eyes for Robobees) and you'll know what I mean.

I'm planning to use the quadrotor as a testbed for different visual-based control strategies for indoor applications.

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