UAV/Drones
Multiple Rotors, Unusual Configuration Variable CG - No Problem
From the very beginning, the j2 Universal Tool-Kit has been used to support the design and development of UAV's and drones. Tandem wing configurations with moving payloads and the desire to hover were early adopters of the unlimited modelling capability provided through j2 Builder. Later designs dealing with tilt-rotors and thrust vectoring have reinforced the j2 Universal Tool-Kit's position as the go to software tool for all new and unusual designs. Currently j2 Aircraft Dynamics are working with several PAV and UAV developers and operators to ensure the correct and safe operation of their aircraft.
Tilt Rotors and Flight Controls Design
When developing models in The j2 Universal Tool-Kit the user can include the tilt and the tow of the engines. These do not have to be fixed variables so it is a simple connection of the engine tilt to model inputs. This provides the ability to control the engine attitude and thus analyse a Tilt Rotor Aircraft. By using the user defined trim rules within j2 Freedom, the aircraft can be initialized over a range of airspeeds and altitudes to find the tilt and thrust bias to trim the aircraft. This in-turn is used to schedule the gains for initial feedforward into the flight control laws.
Safety Analysis
As drones become larger and more autonomous, so there is a need to provide a full safety analysis. Not just the evaluation of the response of the aircraft to an engine failure but more “soft” failures. What happens if there is an uplink loss, what about the impact of terrain on the GPS signal or the effects of degraded systems. All the systems and software that goes into an autonomous UAV can be added into the model using real hardware and software in the loop simulations through the j2 Developer API then assessed and evaluated with the j2 Universal Tool-Kit.