Hexacopter Drones Overview

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones, are a topic of interest to many academic and industrial research organisations. They find applications in several fields, ranging from military functions to civilian functions. Consequently, the UAVs are expected to perform a wide range of missions, which necessitates a certain level of autonomy. An autonomous UAV relies on an efficient control architecture to perform various tasks and make appropriate decisions. In robotics, control architectures are categorized under six classifications, as we list: deliberative, reactive, hybrid, behaviour, hybrid behaviour, and lastly subsumption architecture. Through this paper, we introduce a short review on a particular type of UAV called Hexacopter or Hexarotor, in which we discuss the items that compose the hexarotor from the very fundamental (framework, sensors …) to the most elaborated parts (modelling, control…). The document covers the flight mechanism, the avionics sensors, the dynamic modelling, and the various control techniques used on a hexacopter. The vision system, the different localisation, and navigation techniques are also explored. At last, but not at least, the focus is directed toward the investigation of the robotics control architectures.