Master thesis : RC Helicopter Control

Abstract

Remote controlled helicopters (usually shortened to RC helicopters) are a specific type of rotary-wing drone. Their main advantage relies on their better power efficiency and reactivity than traditional “multicopter” drones. However, they are unstable in flight and their greater reactivity makes their control quite challenging. In this master thesis, we will explore how to ease RC helicopter control, by adding a flight controller allowing any newcomer to control the helicopter in a much simpler way. We will explore the hardware and software required to add such a flight controller to an existing RC Helicopter and will discuss our return of experience on adding a Pixhawk 4 mini flight controller running ArduPilot to the Devil 380 RC Helicopter.