Namibia University of Science and Technology
Mechanical Engineering Society (MES)
Quadcopter Drone Project: Drone Terminology
Prepared by: Date:
Bokang J. Majoro 06/03/2025
Table of Contents
What is a multirotor drone? ............................................................................... 3
What are the types of multirotor drones?...................................................... 3
Advantages of multirotor drones ................................................................... 6
Disadvantages of multirotor drones ............................................................... 7
Multirotor drone basics ..................................................................................... 7
How does a multirotor drone work? .............................................................. 7
How does the rotor effect multirotor drone？ ........................................... 8
How do multirotor drones create lift climb and descend？........................ 8
How do multirotor drones move forward？ ............................................... 9
Pitch, Roll, and Yaw .................................................................................... 9
Basic Components........................................................................................ 10
Task allocation ................................................................................................. 14
What is a multirotor drone?
Multirotor UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are drones that adopt more than
two rotors with fixed-pitch rotating blades to generate lift. By changing the
relative speed between different rotors, the torque of propulsion force can be
changed to control the trajectory of the aircraft.
The multirotor drone is simple to operate and can take off and land vertically
without a runway. The multirotor drone's reliability basically depends on the
brushless motors, so it has higher reliability.
What are the types of multirotor drones?
Different configurations are suitable for different application fields, with the
performance differences in flight time, agility, stability and payload capacity.
Common multirotor drone configurations including "T"shape, "Y" shape, "plus"
shape, "X" shape, ect. The selection of the types and shapes of a multirotor
depends on what suits you best.
1. Trirotor
The trirotor, as its name suggests, is made up of three rotors to generate
buoyancy and used for movement and control. And the arm distance are usually
120 degree, at mean time, it's typically in a “Y” shape and sometimes in a "T"
shape. The advantages of a trirotor are its light size, low cost, and flexibility, as it
only requires three rotors, which is a relatively inexpensive configuration. At the
same time, it also has lower lifting power because of the motor numbers.
2. Quadrotor/Quadcopter
Quadcopters are common type of multicopter and the most popular being the
"X " and "H" shape. Four motors are mounted on a symmetrical frame, and each
arm is usually 90 degrees apart in X4 configuration. Two of motors rotate
CW(clockwise) and the other two rotate CCW(counter clockwise) to generate
opposite forces to keep balance. It achieves perfect performance for price,
stability and flight time.
3. Hexacopter
The hexacoptrer is mounted on a symmetrical frame, and each arm is usually 60
degrees. Compared to the quadrotor, the hexadecopter has more motors to
increase the power and stability. Meantime, it also improves higher redundancy
so that even if a motor fails during flight, it can still work properly in the air and
land safely. However, motors will be more power consumption, so the flight time
will be reduced. It is also similiar with quadcopter, three of motors rotate CW
(clockwise) and the other three rotate CCW (counterclockwise) to generate
opposite forces to keep balance.
4. Octocopter
The octocopter usually has eight rotors, so it has strong stability and power,
which is able to take greater payload and has stronger wind resistance. It looks
more like an upgraded quadrotor and hexadecopter. Octocopters are often used
for film or professional purposes which can be mounted with heavier cameras
and lenses. But because of the increase in the number of motors, its energy
consumption is fast and the drone frame size is large.
5. Coaxial multirotor drone
There is also a special type of multirotor drone named coaxial multirotor UAV.
Coaxial rotors are a pair of rotors mounted on concentric axes, having the same
axis of rotation but turning in opposite directions.
For example, the typical coaxial octocopter is also known as coaxial X8 drone,
which uses 8 motors mounted on 4 arms and it's an upgraded quadrotor with
more power and less space.
Advantages of multirotor drones
Currently, multirotor UAVs are very common and widely used for entertaining
and professional industrial purposes. They are widely used because of the
advantages of multiple rotors.
1. Easy to control and operate. The multirotor drone has simple structures. It's
easy to control or operate and suitable for drone beginners.
2. Suitable for a variety of environmental operations. The strongly
maneuverable multirotor drone is able to hover in the air and take off or land
vertically. It allows narrow space for takeoff and landing, and is suitable for a
variety of environmental operations. It's ideal for photography and videography.
3. Lower cost. The multirotor UAV does not have too much complex accessories,
so its manufacturing cost and maintenance cost is lower than other drones.
4. Convenience to drone pilots. Multirotor UAVs are usually small in size, flexible
and portable, they bring unlimited convenience to drone pilots.
Disadvantages of multirotor drones
1. Short flight time. Most of the multirotor drones are powered by batteries,
which have limited capacity with current technology. So, the speed and
endurance of the UAV are limited. The multirotor drones will have to turn around
when running out of power during a long flight before the accomplishment of
the task.
Multirotor drone basics
How does a multirotor drone work?
Multirotor UAVs are able to fly mainly according to the famous Newton's Third
Law. The multirotor UAV is rotated by the motor, which makes the propeller
produce lift and fly. For example, for a four-rotor drone, when the combined lift
of the four propellers is equal to the total weight of the aircraft, the lift of the
aircraft is balanced with gravity and the aircraft can hover in the air.
How does the rotor effect multirotor drone？
The rotor is an important part of aerodynamics to make the UAV move. A drone
uses rotors for propulsion and control. The power of the rotor is mainly
composed of motors, electric speed controller (ESC) and propellers, also known
as the propulsion system of an UAV. When the drone starts, electricity from the
battery is transmitted through the arm to the propulsion system that spins the
motors and propellers, which converts electricity into kinetic energy.
Air power is generated by the rotation of the motors and propellers, including
the power of the drone to hover and ascend. When the drone is moving relative
to the air at a certain speed and angle of attack, it generates aerodynamic force
to move vertically.
The drone's multiple rotors are designed to spin in different directions and at the
same speed. This allows them to counteract the rotational forces exerted by each
other on the body of the drone, thus keeping it stable.
How do multirotor drones create lift climb and descend？
The UAV uses rotors for propulsion and control. Rotors are like fans because they
work in a similar way. All the forces are in pairs, and the rotating blades push the
air down, which means that when the rotor pushes the air down, the air pushes
the rotor up. This is the basic principle of lift. When the lift force is greater than
the gravity of the drone itself, the drone can move upward. The faster the rotor
turns, the greater the lift, and vice versa.
How do multirotor drones move forward？
Moving a multirotor drone forward is the same principle of relativity of force as
generating lift and descend force. By adjusting the speed of the motors, the rear
motors speed up and the front motors slow down, so the rotor pushes the air to
generate a force and giving the thrust to propel the drone forward.
Pitch, Roll, and Yaw
Image from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Drones-pitch-roll-and-
yaw_fig2_329521700
Basic Components
1. Flight Controller: This acts as the “brain” of the UAV. It is the
microcontroller or microprocessor based board that controls all aspects of
a drone’s operation. The flight controller knows which instructions to send
by getting input from the pilot via the transmitter through the receiver
then to the microcontroller.
2. Electronic Speed Controller (ESC): This is a passive device that controls
the speed of the motor. It performs it’s function by sending instructions
(from the flight controller) of the appropriate current to the motor to get
it to spin to a certain direction and speed.
It is usually shipped with the motor so as to match it’s electrical
characteristics.
3. Brushless Motor: Brushless motors are connected to the propellers in
order to make them rotate. The rotation of the propellers is what will
make the drone to lifted upwards and also maneuver as per the pilot’s
instructions.
22 is the diameter of the motor in
mm
12 is the height of the motor in
mm
1800Kv is the number of
revolutions per minute, at 1 volt,
no load.
4. Lithium Polymer (LiPo) Battery: A lithium polymer battery is a
rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer
electrolyte instead of the common liquid electrolyte. LiPo batteries can
store high energy in a much smaller volume.
Batteries with more than one cell (nominal 3.7V each) need a specially
designed “balance charger” in order to safely charge them.
5. Transmitter: The transmitter is a device that the pilot uses to control the
drone. It sends pulses of information via radio frequencies to the receiver
that is on board the drone. The receiver passes on the data to the flight
controller which will then transmit instructions to the ESCs and other parts
of the drone.
6. Receiver: The receiver is mounted onto the drone. It acts as the bridge of
information from the pilot between the transmitter and the flight
controller.
PWM: Pulse Width Modulation – Each channel has separate transmission
PPM: Pulse Position Modulation – All channels are combined into a single
channel
7. MPU-6050: The MPU-6050 is a motion tracking device that combines a 3-
axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope. It helps in knowing the drone’s
position and orientation.
Task allocation
1. Frame Design: Focuses on the overall design of the drone’s frame and also
selects a suitable material.
Required: Frame design
Structural design simulations
Software: Solidworks and/other preferred software
2. Telemetry Design: Apart from the binding of the transmitter and the
receiver (which will use the fs-i6x and fs-ia6b), this group focuses on the
design that will make it possible for the user to obtain information like
altitude and battery voltage, preferably on their smartphones.
Required: Design of a drone telemetry system from mounted
smartphone sensor
System simulation
Software: Proteus 8 and/other preferred software
3. Flight Dynamics: Focuses on the selection of suitable motors, ESCs,
propellers, battery, gyros, and other components that may be required to
ensure reliable flight
Required: Careful consideration of component selection based on basic
flight dynamics and component compatibility.
Software: Proteus 8 and/other preferred software
4. PCB Design: Focuses on designing and printing of Printed Circuit Boards
(PCB) for the electronic circuits.
Required: Design, simulation, and printing of PCB boards
Software: Proteus 8 and/other preferred software
5. Stabilization: Focuses on modeling the drone and also designing its
controller.
Required: Modelling of the drone
Design and simulation of the control system
Software: MATLAB/Simulink and/other preferred software
