UAV Flight Analysis

MASC UAV

MASC is a small UAV developed for atmospheric boundary layer research. The IG-500N has been chosen to record the UAV position, ground speed, and attitude angles.

Wind speed and direction can be accurately calculated by taking into account the airflow. In-flight wind computation might be tricky because airspeed and incident angles, measured by the embedded airflow probe, need to be compensated by the actual UAV behavior.

Ellipse-N: The GPS-aided Miniature AHRS

While the airflow probe measures airspeed and incident angles, the IG-500N records the UAV position, ground speed, and attitude angles.

By subtracting the UAV ground speed and attitude from the airflow vector, wind speed and direction can be calculated. The Ellipse-N fuses inertial data with GPS and pressure sensor information to provide a robust position and an enhanced altitude accuracy.