Weeks 5,6, and 7

Well, the last three weeks have been quite hectic. My work in MATLAB began somewhat well, but I don't think I was able to obtain value from my simulation attempts. I tried to study from pre existing simulators and create my own but it did not end up well.

Above are two screenshots from my quadcopter simulator. As you can see, there are many issues ranging from the UI to the actual model, even the math is not quite right. I finally decided that the time I would need to invest in figuring out how to make my simulator effective was not worth it, as I could get more valuable data from real life testing. However, I do believe that simulation could be very helpful in this particular project, and is something that I would choose to pursue further if time permitted.


As seen in my last blog, this week's work involves tipping the propellors. Many airplanes have tipped propellors, however, many drones do not.

The purpose of a tipped wing is quite simple. It increases efficiency. It has a similar effect to what is commonly known as a ducted propellor, which are used in airplane turbines.

Above is a diagram of the airflow around a ducted propellor. A tipped wing follows a very similar principle.

I took the cut propellors from my earlier experiment, and bent them so that a centimeter was pointed up. I then ran 20 trials, one is included below.

The result ended up being 1.152 seconds, which supports my hypothesis.