• Senior Thesis
• Department of Mathematics
• Harvey Mudd College

Peter Fedak

Harvey Mudd College Mathematics 2013

Thesis Proposal:	UAV Motion
Thesis Advisor:	Prof. Weiqing Gu
Second Reader:	Michael Orrison
E-Mail:	pfedak@hmc.edu

Towards a Mathematical Framework for UAV Motion

Many practical situations call for manipulation of rotations, elements of SO(3), in their representation of important quantities. In the control system for a quadrotor aircraft, for example, the orientation of the vehicle determines possible directions of motion, so even seemingly simple paths demand navigation of SO(3) with non-trivial constraints. Much of the work on the dynamics of these systems has thus understandably been focused on allowing the vehicle to respond to particular movement commands with a high degree of precision, putting aside the task of navigation. We hope to, through direct use of the Lie group structure underlying the motion, develop a more robust framework for describing the possible paths of such a vehicle.