Onboard Electronics of UAVs

Recent advances in computer and sensing technology have made it possible to develop autonomous aerial robotic systems. Fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been in service for some years and are being used routinely for military and meteorological purposes. Autonomous aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) have also been considered in recent years because they are suitable for intelligence, surveillance and inspection applications, due to their hovering capability. The growing demand for reliable civil UAVs speeded up research work in this field. In this paper, a control system approach is stated for mini and micro UAVs. The theory of physical behaviour of rigid bodies, such as UAVs, is also described besides the characteristics of four-rotor VTOL type UAVs.