Design Considerations for Autonomous Cargo Transportation Multirotor UAVs

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have proven to be an advanced tool for a variety of applications in the civilian and military sectors. Different categories of UAVs are used in various missions and are also the subject of numerous researches. Due to their characteristics and potential in specific conditions, multirotor UAVs imposes itself as a solution for many tasks, including transport. This chapter presents a conceptual solution of autonomous cargo transportation where the primary research objective is the design of a heavy lift multirotor UAV system. The process of designing a multirotor UAV that can carry heavy lift cargo is quite challenging due to many parameters and constraints. Five selected series of electric propulsion systems are analyzed, with different multirotor configurations, and results are graphically displayed for payloads from 10 kg up to 100 kg.