Explore the Rapid Prototyping of Advanced Flight Control Algorithms: From Simulation to Actual Flight

A rapid prototyping solution for advanced flight control algorithms of our autopilot is presented. Furthermore, the flight test system from theory to actual flight is developed to narrow the gap between the theory and the practice. Firstly, how to build the system structure and development process is introduced. Secondly, the autopilot which is capable of controlling multiple vehicle types from open source is selected and improved. Then the ability to conduct tests in software and hardware in the loop has been developed, to enable safe testing of algorithms, which will speed up the development process. Consequently, in the simulation, the autopilot passing the validation can be directly moved on to the UAV with little code and parameter modification. Finally, the process from simulations to actual flight test is performed and the results illustrate that the method of rapid prototyping design reduces the workload significantly, and can be used to shorten the development cycle.