Multi-Rotors Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Power Supply and Energy Management

Abstract

Interest in electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has grown rapidly in recent years, and their applications have expanded and diversified considerably since they first appeared, for both commercial and private purposes. Thanks to their ability to perform challenging and hazardous tasks with high mobility, safety, and low cost. As academic researchers, we are concerned with commercial multi-rotor UAVs, which are revolutionizing many public services, including search and rescue operations, wireless coverage, delivery services, precision agriculture, wildlife surveys, and real-time surveillance. One of the UAVs main issues when it comes to mobility is the limited energy autonomy/endurance. Many types of power supplies can be implemented in UAVs, each with its specific strengths and shortfalls in terms of size, charging/discharging time, energy density and power density. This paper focuses on UAVs energy aspect, with a comprehensive review of the main power sources available for multi-rotors UAVs, and energy management systems to uncover gaps and provide further insights and guidelines for future research.