Tilt measurement unit for unmanned aerial vehicles

Tilt angle measurement is the basis of flight control and safety monitoring of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). For this purpose a tilt measurement unit (TMU) is researched in this paper. Firstly, on the basis of the analysis of different tilt sensors, a two-axis electrolytic tilt sensor is opted. After introduction of its operational principle, the sensor excitation technique is studied. Then, the hardware and software of TW based on SoC microprocessor C8051F310 is designed. Finally, the TMU is calibrated, and the fit curve is given, also. The TMU is implemented in a monitoring system of UAVs. The results manifest that the TMU is applicable to most flight condition of the UAVs with acceptable precision.