Quadcopter : Components, Working, Types, Interfacing, Differences & Its Applications

A multirotor drone is a type of UAV with various rotors, like four rotors, six rotors, eight rotors, or even more, based on their design and use. But this drone’s extra rotors can increase payload capacity, flight time, stability, etc. These are the cheapest and easiest drones, providing high control over framing and position. Thus, these are ideal for surveillance and aerial photography. Multirotor drones are available in different types, like trimotor, quadrotor, hexacopter, octocopter, and coaxial multi-rotor drones. These are the most common UAV types, and each type of drone differs in its performance, design, and ability. This article elaborates on one of the types of multirotor drones, like the Quadcopter, its working, and applications.

What is a Quadcopter?

A quadcopter is a type of UAV that is powered by four rotors, where each rotor has a motor & a propeller. A quadcopter drone utilizes four rotors for lift & propulsion, so it can take off & vertically land and drift in place. So the two rotors of this drone spin clockwise, whereas the other two rotors spin counterclockwise to cancel out torque and give constant flight control. This can be controlled manually or independently, so it is one of the most popular types of drones due to its simplicity, stability, and maneuverability.

Quadcopters are differentiated by their four-rotor design to control advanced aerodynamics, mechanics, and electronics. Its exclusive design provides maneuverability and superior stability than usual single-rotor helicopters.

Quadcopter History:

The quadcopter is a type of multi-rotor drone that has evolved extensively from its early designs. So the step-by-step history of the Quadcopter is discussed below.

• Jacques & Louis Bréguet in 1907 developed and tested Gyroplane No. 1. It is an early quadcopter idea, achieving take-off but facing instability based on cross-blade aerospace systems.
• Etienne Oehmichen created another early quadcopter like Oehmichen in 1920, which demonstrates flight & setting a global record.
• In the U.S. Navy, 1930 experimented with radio-controlled aircraft, which led to the Curtiss N2C-2 Drone development.
• The Bell Boeing Quad Tiltrotor in 1990 combined both the fixed-wing & quadcopter designs for military transport applications.
• Amazon proposed a commercial drone technology in 2013 for a delivery system
• Airbus developed a battery-powered quadcopter in 2018 for urban air taxis to aim for autonomous operation at some point.
• At present, these drones are used widely for different purposes like recreational flying, aerial photography, delivery, surveillance, etc.

Components of a Quadcopter

A quadcopter is designed with several key components, which are explained below.

Frame

The quadcopter frame has arms that hold motors, batteries, the flight controller, etc.

Motors

The quadcopter includes four motors, which are used to lift it up. But there are different kinds of motors available on the market.

ESC

Since the Quadcopter motors generally require 3 3-phase supply, we cannot use it as a direct supply. So we require ESC to change the controller signals and send them to the motors to control their speed.

Propellers

Propellers are a significant component of the drone. These are spinning blades that work like wings on your drone and create the airflow to lift your drone into the air.

Flight Controller

The main function of the flight controller is to direct each motor’s RPM in response to input. So the pilot command for the Quad-copter helps to move forward and is fed into the flight controller to decide how to control the motors, consequently.

RC Transmitter & Receiver

Radio transmitters & receivers control electricity, which results in useful data transmission through space or the atmosphere. They use radio signals to wirelessly send commands through a set radio frequency above the radio receiver. So it is connected to the quadcopter’s flight controller, which is remotely controlled.

Battery

A quadcopter uses a battery power source to drive all the systems of your drone by allowing it to fly. At last, a Lithium polymer (LIPO) battery is needed to power the quadcopter, so the quadcopter’s flight time mainly depends on the capacity of the battery. The selection of a battery mainly depends on its size, voltage, C rating, capacity, etc.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous includes the tiny accessories like different jumper cables and bullet connectors, which make your quadcopter perfect and more stable.

How Does a Quadcopter Work?

Quadcopters can fly with four rotors, where each includes a motor and propeller to produce lift and movement control within the air. These drones can achieve flight by changing each rotor’s speed, thus affecting the amount of generated lift & thrust by allowing controlled movement in all directions.
A quadcopter’s flight relies on the four rotors’ thrust & precise control principle. Thus, here is a breakdown of its working.

• Once all four rotors spin then they produce airflow downward and thrust upward. Whenever the generated total by the rotors exceeds the weight of the quad-copter then it takes off.
• To drift in place, the flight controller changes all four rotors’ speeds to produce just sufficient thrust to offset gravity.
• The four rotors’ speed is equally increased to generate more thrust as compared to weight. So the speed will be reduced to descend.
• The rear rotors spin more easily and move forward than the front rotors, and tilting the quadcopter forward produces thrust. The speed of the front rotors’ backward movement can be achieved by increasing.
• The right side rotors of this drone spin faster to move left than the left rotors, and tilt the quadcopter drone to the left. Here, right-side movement can be achieved by raising the left rotor speed.
• To rotate the yaw clockwise, two rotors that are diagonally opposite rotate faster, whereas the other two rotors spin slower, thus creating a rotating force. By reversing this, counter-clockwise rotation can be achieved.
• The sensor data can be monitored constantly by the flight controller. So it makes micro-adjustments to each motor’s speed to keep stability and perform the commands of the pilot.

Types of Quadcopters

There are different types of quadcopters available in the market based on their shapes of frame & intended uses, which are explained below.

X Quadcopter or X-Configuration:

This type of quadcopter has the most popular design that provides a good stability balance & maneuverability. It is used in a variety of applications like videography, racing, aerial photography, acrobatic flying, FPV racing,

H Quadcopter or H-Configuration:

H Quadcopter has an H-shaped frame, which provides better stability. So this drone can be used in aerial photography, based on Devopedia.

+ Quadcopter or + Configuration:

This quadcopter excels within straight flight lanes, including aerodynamically efficient propeller positions, frequently used within acrobatic flying. It is used in simpler control schemes of certain applications.

Y4 Quadcopter or Y4 Configuration:

This drone is similar to a tricopter with three arms, but its rear arm includes two motors which are mounted coaxially for better yaw control & and lifting power.

A-Tail or V-tail Quadcopter:

This drone is similar to Y4quadcopter, except with rear motors located at an angle in an A or V shape, which provides more yaw control.

Quadcopter using Arduino

A flight controller is the brain of the Quadcopter. Generally, there are many pre-flashed flight controllers also available in the market with less cost. So a flight controller designed with Arduino for a Quadcopter is shown below. MultiWii is a famous flight controller software used for DIY Quadcopters.

So let us design a quadcopter with Arduino, as shown below. It is not only a quadcopter but also an open-source machine. The required components to make this quadcopter using Arduino include: ESC, Bluetooth, MPU-6050, 330-ohm Resistor, LED indicator, receiver, Arduino Nano R3, and connecting wires.

Connections:

The connections of this interfacing follow as;

• Connect the D3 pin of Arduino Nano to the ESC 1 signal pin.
• Connect the D9 pin of Arduino Nano to the ESC 3 signal pin.
• Connect the D10 pin of Arduino Nano to the ESC 2 signal pin.
• Connect the D11 pin of Arduino Nano to the ESC 4 signal pin.
• Connect the TX pin of the Bluetooth module to the RX pin of the Arduino.
• Connect the RX pin of the Bluetooth module to the TX pin of Arduino.
• Arduino’s A4 pin is connected to the SDA pin of MPU-6050.
• Arduino’s A5 pin is connected to the SCL pin of MPU-6050.
• Connect one terminal of the LED to the D8 pin of Arduino and the other terminal to the power supply through a resistor.
• Arduino’s D2 pin is connected to the Throttle pin of the receiver.
• Connect the D4 pin of Arduino to the Eleron’s pin of the receiver.
• Arduino’s D5 pin is connected to the Ailerons pin of the receiver.
• Arduino’s D6 pin is connected to the Rudder pin of the receiver.
• Arduino’s D7 pin is connected to the AUX 1 pin of the receiver.

Working

Now connect all the grounds with the ground terminals of Arduino. So it includes all Receiver grounds, the Bluetooth module, ESC grounds & MPU grounds. After that, provide a 5V power source connection by connecting the battery’s GND to the GND of all the components. The Red color wire is connected to the Arduino, 5V pin, Bluetooth Module, and MPU.

Now supply the board and Arduino is ready to add code through a computer. Normally Arduino flight controller works with some computer programming. For that, you need to download first the MultiWii 2.4, and you can download the code directly.

It is a very popular FC software used for multi-rotors through a large community. Because this software supports a variety of multi-copters with superior features like Bluetooth control with your smartphone, barometer, OLED display, GPS position hold & return to home, magnetometer, LED strips, etc.

You will notice how you move the flight controller immediately, the Accelerometer & Gyroscope data values can be noticed on the screen. So the FC orientation can be seen at the bottom. In this interface, you can change the signal PID values and adjust your quadcopter to equal your personal preferences. In this interfacing, flight modes can also be assigned to certain auxiliary switch positions. Now, all you have to do is find a position for your Arduino flight controller on the frame that is set to hit the skies.

Arduino quadcopter works with all the required components to create thrust by allowing for flight & maneuverability. So Arduino microcontroller works as a flight controller that gets input and sends signals to the ESCs to get desired movements like rising, hovering, turning, and falling.
Fundamentally, the Arduino quadcopter merges hardware with software to make a flying machine. So it performs a variety of maneuvers depending on user input & feedback.

Difference B/w Quadcopter Vs Drone

The difference between a Quadcopter and a Drone includes the following.

Advantages & Disadvantages

The Quadcopter advantages include the following.

• They have many benefits due to their unique design & capabilities
• Quadcopters have stable performance.
• These are versatile and simple to use.
• They have maneuverability and accessibility.
• They can hover & achieve stable flights.

The quadcopter’s disadvantages include the following.

• It has limited flight time & speed.
• These have a complex design with various parts vulnerable to damage.
• They depend on electric motors because of the need for particular throttle changes, mainly for stabilization.
• These are less efficient as compared to fixed-wing drones.
• These can be affected by weather conditions.
• Safety considerations:
• Quadcopters can become unstable due to their multi-rotor design, which can potentially lead to crashes or erratic flight.
• Its data transfer speed is very slow.

Applications

The quadcopter applications include the following.

• Quadcopters are used in diverse applications, which include spanning a variety of industries & activities.
• These can be used in aerial photography, search and rescue, surveillance, delivery, and leisure activities, as well as acrobatics and racing.
• These can also be used in agriculture, infrastructure inspection, environmental monitoring, etc.
• Quadcopters are used in industrial and commercial applications, which include: aerial photography, videography, precision agriculture, security, surveillance, delivery services, precision agriculture, infrastructure inspection, environmental monitoring, etc.
• These are used in public sector applications like public safety, search & rescue, law enforcement, disaster management, etc.

Thus, this is an overview of a quadcopter, its working, and its applications. It is a versatile UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) with various applications like videography, recreational flying, aerial photography, etc. These drones play a key role in different fields like surveying, search, rescue operations, mapping, etc. So, quadcopters represent an important advancement within drone technology, which offers a blend of versatility, agility & affordability that makes them a cost-effective tool for a broad range of applications. Here is a question for you: What is a UAV?