Intelligent Automation, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF181-029

Description

The electric propulsion has several advantages over fossil fuel-based engines and power trains. They are more efficient, produce less noise, are easier to maintain and are cheaper to operate in the long run. However, they lag behind fossil fuels in one primary metric, the energy density. Even the most advanced battery systems do not come close to gasoline in terms of energy and weight ratio. Recently the focus has shifted towards a hybrid approach that promises to combine the benefits of both energy sources while limiting the drawbacks. In the realm of small Unmanned Air Vehicles (sUAV) electric propulsion is widely used. A hybrid propulsion implementation for sUAV has the potential to dramatically improve performance leading to longer flight time and ability to carry heavier payload. The balance between fossil fuel and electric is mission critical. Maintaining this balance under diverse mission objectives, environment conditions and uncertainties is a major challenge. The Efficient POwer Controller (EPOC) architecture is designed specifically for sUAV airframe, it uses an innovative ensemble approach for optimizing the partition of power source between battery and engine. Modern robust control methods are applied to ensure graceful degradation in performance and efficiency, as the UAV executes different maneuvers.