IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - November/December 2021 - 14

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Table 3. Different types of fuel-powered UAV engines.
Attribute LYCOMING EL-005
Type
Max
Power
Weight
Fuel
Cost
Two-stroke
piston engine
900 W@ 5,500 r/min
13.8 lb
Jet Fuel, Mogas,
Unleaded Avgas
$150 K
Rotax 914
Honeywell T76 Rolls Royce F137
Four-stroke
piston engine
84.5 kW @ 5,800 r/min
140.8 lb
100LL Leaded Avgas, Unleaded
Regular Gas
$34.9 K
Turboprop
jet engine
700 kW @ 2,000
r/min
385 lb
Jet Fuel
$480 K
Turbofan
jet engine
44.7 kW @ 16,300
r/min
641 lb
Jet Fuel
$3.76 M
Hybrid Engines: A hybrid propulsion system
consists of two parts: an engine and an electric
motor. A hybrid propulsion system can be set
up in multiple configurations.
Parallel: In a parallel configuration, either the
electric motor can be used alone to drive the
propeller, or the engine can be used alone to
rotate the propeller and charge the battery.
In the latter case, the motor works as a generator
powered by the engine. The engine and
the electric motor in this setup are mechanically
coupled using a gear that is used to
drive the propeller.
Series: In a series configuration, the electric
motor is connected directly to the propeller
and is used to drive it. The engine is not
mechanically connected to the propeller,
instead, it is connected to a generator that is
used to charge the batteries and power the
electric motor.
Parallel-Series: This setup uses a planetary
gear connected directly to the propeller;
both the engine and the electric motor are
connected to the planetary gear. The UAV
could run on the electric motor or the
engine. When the engine is used, the planetary
gear transfers most of the energy to the
propeller and some to a generator that is
used to charge the batteries.
4. PAYLOADS: The payload means the weight that a
UAV can carry other than the UAV weight itself.
The body style of the UAV is crucial in determining
the payload size. Multirotor UAVs can carry
small objects for a short range. On the other
hand, fixed-wing UAVs can have a high payload
capacity. Depending on the mission type and the
purpose of flying a UAV, many different combinations
of payloads can be installed on the UAV as
described below.
Sensors and Cameras: All the interchangeable
sensors that are not part of the flight controller
and are not critically related to the UAV flight
operations are part of the payload. A UAV can utilize
a multitude of payload sensors (e.g., temperature,humidity,pressure,proximity,rangefinder,
and
LiDAR) and cameras, such as night vision,
visual [red, green, blue (RGB)] cameras, and infrared,
both near-infrared (NIR) and long-wavelength
infrared (LWIR), cameras. Any UAV will have at
least one camera (to provide the live feed) or multiple
cameras for high-quality images and videos.
Weapons: Weapons are an essential payload
in military applications. UAVs can be outfitted
with a variety of missiles and bombs such as
Hellfire missiles, Stinger missiles, Griffin missiles,
Viper strike bombs, laser-guided bombs, or any
other combinations.
Tanks and Sprayers: In commercial applications,
a UAV can be equipped with a tank and
sprayer to help in crop irrigation, pesticide
spraying, and firefighting.
Speakers and Lights: In search and rescue and
law enforcement applications, UAVs can be outfitted
with speakers and lights. A speaker can be
installed on UAVs to transmit sounds, and the
lights are useful in low-light environments.
5. COMMUNICATION SUBSYSTEM: A UAV operator
can communicate with the UAV using any of the
following: radio controller transmitter, ground
control station (GCS), or satellite duplex data
14
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