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Hobby Inspired Electric Multicopter Makes Manned Flight

Posted by samzenpus on from the you-want-me-to-fly-in-what-now? dept.

garymortimer writes "A German team has managed to fly its super-sized hobby inspired platform with a man on-board! A one-hour flight would cost something near to 6 Euro for electricity. In addition, the device holds few parts that could wear out, making maintenance intervals and cost low and far between. The control firmware can be integrated with a sophisticated integrated GPS system or obstacle detection. As such, automated flight for predetermined points on a 3D map is possible."

7 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Safety? by pushing-robot · · Score: 2

    Would it be so hard to suspend the pilot's chair underneath that mass of spinning rotors? I dub this thing "The Impaler".

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    1. Re:Safety? by WastedMeat · · Score: 2

      That would make it more stable, but harder to maneuver. With the center of mass in the plane of the rotors, it only takes very slight modifications to the torque to rotate it, and is probably the more power efficient way to do it. There is much more micromanaging of the controls to keep it level this way, but this is all done by computer and the pilot is fucked in any case if the computer fails.

      It has been a while since I was obsessing over this stuff as a kid, but I believe that was one of the innovations behind the F-16 when it was introduced. It was so unstable that a human could not fly it; the manual controls were essentially a DC offset on the rapid control from the computer. This made it incredibly maneuverable.

  2. F-16 by spire3661 · · Score: 2

    Every time i see one of these amateur fly-by-wire setups, i think of the F-16 development. One of the main show stoppers in the F-16 was the fact that the software would get confused when crossing the equator. It would flip the plane upside down fast enough to kill the pilot and then happily fly upside down until it ran out of fuel. Other little things like it would allow for wheels up while sitting on the tarmac, or allowing a bomb to come off the rack while inverted. Automation in flying is hard, and quite honestly you have to be prepared to lose pilots. http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/3.44.html

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    Good-bye
  3. Re:Euros? by SenseiLeNoir · · Score: 2

    Dont get me wrong, this is an amazing accomplishment. But six euros of electricity seems something like 20 - 50 KW of power. I wonder how LONG it will take to charge!!!!!!!

    Not to mention the battery to hold that...

    Not to mention the charging equipment, and power requirements to be able to "fast" charge it.

    --
    Have a nice day!
  4. Re:Darwin Award Waiting to happen. by Migraineman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    At about 0:44 in the video included in TFA, you can see them starting to load out the batteries. There appears to be one battery pack per motor, which eliminates the possibility of centralized battery failure. Can't say if there are redundancies in the control mechanisms.

    This is most certainly a proof-of-concept prototype. Adding more robust safety and control systems should happen after they prove the thing works, which it appears they have.

    A tip-o-the-hat to the e-volo team for brightening my day.

  5. Re:Darwin Award Waiting to happen. by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2

    Autorotation requires variable-pitch rotors; these are fixed pitch, but with some redundancy in the power and control systems, I bet this thing can be made rather safe. They look like large off-the-shelf model airplane props. A bit scary when they all spin like that, but a shroud around the prop can catch any debris if a prop breaks, and the control system can quickly shut that motor down.

    Oh, and these multirotor platforms are easy to stabilise; with the right control system this thing will be a snap to fly, far easier than a regular heli or even a fixed wing plane (I've flown models of all of these).

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  6. Re:power rating per engine? by Migraineman · · Score: 2

    Looks similar to a Great Planes 65cc 80-85-160 Brushless Outrunner Electric Motor. This particular motor is rated for 7500 W continuous, 8400 W surge. No, I didn't accidentally add a zero. Yes, approximately 10hp out of a motor that fits in a 3.5" cube. Outrunners are pretty damned amazing.

    Note - to achieve this power level, you'll need to feed said motor with 125 amps at 30-50V. No small task there.