3-DOF Drone Test Rig

Engineering
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Discussion about the utility, feasibility and value add to the DAO on the development of the following system, please review and comment below

Concept

A relatively simple Gyroscopic frame system for Mid to Large drone attitude control response tuning in pitch roll and yaw. The drone will be placed into the gyroscopic frame and allowed to move freely in the 3 rotational axes about its Centre of Mass (COM), while being locked transitionally, with the motion data being recorded by sensors routed to a data acquisition system. The utility of such systems would be to allow rapid and safe control gain and other parameter tuning for drone development without risking crashes or injury via mishaps or instability in flight. If developed, Arrow would have access to a system for rapid testing which would allow for development to occur much faster and safer and can be used further afield by any drone developers and testers, both hobbyists and professionals.

Something like the below system developed by eureka dynamics but for larger UAVs:

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Requirements

Construct a 3 axis gyroscopic frame large and sturdy enough while also making it as light as possible. Checking the frame can move smoothly, analysing its mechanical load strength.

Develop some mounting systems able to interface with multiple drone types and structures.

Using appropriate feedback sensors on each axis, probably potentiometers or encoders, maybe even IMUs, capture and return angular state information in a standard and discernible format.

Implement some data acquisition system such as using a micro-controller to capture and process sensor data, recording and returning 3-DOF motion profiles.

Produce sufficient documentation and guides such that it can be replicated relatively easily.

Can be broken down into mechanical and electrical sections for easier execution with another person if desired.

Document

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This is a nice to have tool that we talked about before, thanks Alex. However, could you elaborate more in the document on the use cases and how much time we’d be saving using this? I think it’ll be better to see what to expect and how much to benefit from it, especially for the ones who don’t know any systems like this one.

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There are many peoples already using this device on internet, but without any encoders or sensor integration. I’m not good at it, but I think using a 3D IMU will be better than three encoders on each axis, especially for calibrating the frame system.