The purpose of this research is to investigate difficulties experienced by unmanned quadrotor helicopters in high-wind conditions, and use this understanding to develop an aircraft capable of sustained, steady flight in such conditions. Quadrotors are a very popular platform for autonomous aerial vehicles, but are designed for nominal flight conditions in low-speed or hover regimes. In real conditions, battery life is very short, and in high-wind environments, quadrotors often cannot maintain steady flight. Therefore, this research aims to develop a robust aerodynamic model of a quadrotor in high-wind environments, and use this model to develop a quadrotor and control system capable of sustaining flight in these conditions without severely impacting battery life.

I’m so excited to be working on developing UAV technologies after working at Amazon Prime Air and seeing all the difficulties faced by multirotors!