ECE 163 Introduction to Small-Scale UAV Theory and Practice

Technologies involved in the modeling and simulation of small-scale unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with an emphasis on control applications, from low-level flight stabilization to higher level path planning and vision-based control. Topics include coordinate frames, aerodynamics, equations of motion, full non-linear simulation, linearized dynamics models and trim states, force and moment balances for steady flight, flight controls by successive loop closure, state space control, path planning and guidance, sensors and estimation. Students enrolled in this class learn how to use the Python programming language to solve engineering problems. Taught in conjunction with ECE 263. Students cannot receive credit for this course and ECE 263.