Automated Battery Swap and Recharge to Enable Persistent UAV Missions
Author(s)
Toksoz, Tuna; Redding, Joshua; Michini, Matthew; Vavrina, Matthew; Vian, John; Michini, Bernard J.; How, Jonathan P.; ... Show more Show less
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This paper introduces a hardware platform for automated battery changing and charging for multiple UAV agents. The automated station holds a bu er of 8 batteries in a novel dual-drum structure that enables a "hot" battery swap, thus allowing the vehicle to remain powered on throughout the battery changing process. Each drum consists of four battery bays, each of which is connected to a smart-charger for proper battery maintenance and charging. The hot-swap capability in combination with local recharging and a large 8-battery capacity allow this platform to refuel multiple UAVs for long-duration and persistent missions with minimal delays and no vehicle shutdowns. Experimental results from the RAVEN indoor flight test facility are presented that demonstrate the capability and robustness of the battery change/charge station in the context of a multi-agent, persistent mission where surveillance is continuously required over a speci ed region.
Date issued
2011-03Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Aerospace Controls Laboratory; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and AstronauticsJournal
Proceedings of the Infotech@Aerospace 2011
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Citation
Michini, Bernard, Tuna Toksoz, Joshua Redding, Matthew Michini, Jonathan How, Matthew Vavrina, and John Vian. “Automated Battery Swap and Recharge to Enable Persistent UAV Missions.” In Infotech@Aerospace 2011. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2011.
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISBN
978-1-60086-944-0
ISSN
1946-9802