• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.73-79
• /
• 2010

A preliminary study on a length-variable rotor blade for a small unmanned helicopter has been conducted. After surveys on previous researches, and examining requirements for application to a small unmanned helicopter, a length-variable rotor blade was designed and manufactured to be driven by centrifugal force from rotor revolution with no mechanical actuator. The rotor blade was divided into a fixed inboard section and an outboard section sliding in span-wise direction. In order to determine the operating conditions of the length-variable rotor during revolution, and to derive the design variables of extension spring and rotor weight, a series of analyses from multi-body dynamics solution were conducted. The manufactured prototype was verified of its length-varying mechanism from a rotor stand, the results and required future improvements are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.458-465
• /
• 2011

UAV-UGV teaming concept has been proposed that can compensate for weak points of each platform by providing carrying, launching, recovery and recharging capability for the VTOL-UAV through the host UGV. The teaming concept can expand the observation envelop of the UGV and extend the operational capability of the UAV through mechanical combination of each system. The spherical-shaped coaxial rotorcraft UAV is suggested to provide flexible and precise interface between two systems. Hybrid navigation solution that included vision-based target tracking method for precision landing is investigated and its experimental study is performed. Feasibility study on length-variable rotor to provide the compact configuration of the loaded rotorcraft platform is also described.