On the design and development of a coaxial nano rotorcraft

This paper describes the numerical and experimental design study conducted for the DARPA Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program to develop a miniature air vehicle capable of performing clandestine ISR and sensor delivery. The mission and geometry requirements for the program imposed challenging limitations on vehicle size, weight, endurance, and performance. Four principle components of the NAV system were developed for the program; a coaxial rotorcraft platform with optimized, fully articulated rotors; a miniaturized, low-power avionics suite consisting of navigation sensors, processors, and RF modules; GNC and integrated system design tools capable of predicting vehicle sizing and performance attributes. The resulting vehicle design study yielded a coaxial rotorcraft concept that had a 75-mm diameter and 22-gram total weight, and was capable of delivering a 2-gram payload over a greater than 2-km indoor and outdoor mission profile. Experimental data was generated on all sub-components of the NAV platform, validating our analysis models and overall vehicle concept.