Design of an Autopilot Hardware and Software for Controlling an UAV Around its Pitch Axis

Design and implementation of an autopilot program were investigated for guidance and navigation of an UAV around its longitudinal axis. This involved two parts, the hardware and the software. In the hardware section, to achieve modularity and increase the realm of application, the DSP of model F28335 manufactured by TI Company was adopted and it was called XDSP. In addition, an I/O expansion board called XGPIO was simultaneously used next to the former. Furthermore, the schematics of the proposed design and the requirements pertaining to each part were explained in detail. In the software section, the control process and the recommended structure of the autopilot software were examined first. A basic PID controller was then designed according to UAV dynamics and a mathematical model using Aerosim software. On this basis, an autopilot software was developed for controlling the UAV around its pitch axis. CCS software (V4.1) was employed to compile the autopilot software code and also load the code on the hardware. The simulation and the hardware and software tests of the designed autopilot were successfully conducted. The results obtained are presented here demonstrating this fact.

Keywords:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) , Autopilot Hardware , Autopilot Software , PID Controller , Aerosim , Pitch Angle