Development of the performance evaluation method for small multicopter vertical mobility in a narrow environment

Yamada, Taichi ; Suzuki, Soichiro  ; Ito, Rintaro; Ota, Yua*; Kaneko, Eiichiro*; Ogane, Katsuji*; Kawabata, Kuniaki   

We develop a test method to evaluate the vertical moving performance of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in a narrow environment, specifically performance for ascending through a narrow aperture. This research aims to boost the UAS industry by pushing for the expansion of UAS use into various places and situations. UAS users should know whether the UAS performance is enough to achieve their objectives and what UAS suits them. However, discussing what/how much UASs can do is complex, especially in a place or situation affecting some UAS functions. Thus, the test method provides an easy-to-understand evaluation of UAS performance for mobility to access a destination in a narrow environment, even for UAS users without technical knowledge. To develop an acceptable test method for the UAS industry, we repeatedly held demonstrations and discussions with UAS manufacturers and users to incorporate their opinions from the early stages of this research. In addition, the experiments show that the test method appropriately indicates the difference in UAS performance. This paper describes the approach of UAS performance evaluation to promote the UAS industry, the development along with UAS users' opinions, and the result of the experiments to compare the type of UAS and consideration.