Fault Tolerance Conceptual Strategy for a Quadcopter Drone with Rotor Failure

Abstract

The ability of a quadcopter drone to maintain its attitude relies solely on its four rotors. If even one motor fails, the drone loses its ability to hold attitude and altitude. This paper explores a new fault tolerance solution to enhance attitude control for quadcopter drones following the complete loss of a single rotor. By following the fundamental principle of balancing forces and moments on a quadrotor drone, the paper demonstrates that it is feasible to land the drone safely by minimizing roll, pitch, and yaw when a rotor fails. The concept centers around thrust vectoring, which allows an opposite motor to tilt independently. The results indicate that tilting the opposite rotor by 45^o provides better management of the drone’s roll, pitch, and yaw, enabling the incapacitated drone to land in a more controlled and manageable manner. The paper includes simulation results and a summary table of the novel idea’s performance enhancements.