Microraptor: A Low-Cost Autonomous Quadrotor System
This paper describes Microraptor, a complete low-cost autonomous quadrotor system designed for surveillance and reconnaissance applications. The Microraptor ground station is custom-made and features a graphical user interface that presents and allows the manipulation of various flight parameters. The aerial vehicle is a 4-rotor vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle that features the advantages of traditional helicopters with significant reduction in mechanical complexity. The vehicle frame is a handmade magnesium and carbon fiber structure. The onboard avionics system is a custom dual processor design capable of autonomous path navigation and data exchange with the ground station. The vehicle is outfitted with a video and still-photo system that provides real-time images to the system operator through the GUI. The system is being developed at Oakland University by a team of multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate engineering students. Microraptor placed 5th at the 2008 Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Competition and is set to compete again in June of 2009.