Novel Test-Bench for UAV Inertia Measurement Employing Direct-Drive Motors

A relevant task when testing the characteristics of a small-size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is to define its moments of inertia, useful to determine the aircraft dynamical model and to design the onboard control systems. Flight tests and empirical methods are typical to estimate the inertia of a UAV. However, these methods could be inaccurate, difficult to be performed, and safety issues may arise. This study proposes a test-bench specifically designed to compute the inertia tensor of a UAV, in a confined and safe space. An algorithm for the UAV tensor of inertia measurement is proposed, exploiting high performance direct-drive motors and absolute encoders. Simulations are conducted to verify the algorithm, and the results are compared with theoretical analysis.