Volocopter Gmbh

Benjamin Kirsch

Jan Zwiener

Sebastian Mores

Burak Yüksel

Johannes Stephan

Alexander Klingspor

Falk Bahr

Jan-Hendrik Boelens

A method for operating an eVTOL multirotor aircraft having distributed actuators activated by controllers that each determines an associated manipulated variable signal at least for a subset of actuators and provides it for the relevant actuator. The method provides that for an actuator: i) assigning a different priority ranking for each controller; ii) determining, by way of a given controller having a given priority ranking, at least one manipulated variable signal for the actuator and transmitting the signal identified by the given priority ranking to the relevant actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; iii) receiving, via a given controller having a given priority ranking, manipulated variable signals from controllers having higher priority ranking and relaying these signals to the actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; and iv) activating the actuator using the manipulated variable signal identified by the highest priority ranking.

Method for operating an aircraft, control architecture for an aircraft, and aircraft having same

A method for controlling an aircraft, in particular a VTOL multirotor aircraft, in which flight influencing units of the aircraft a) are supplied with control commands via a first/control channel from a first computer (COM), which control commands originate or are derived from a pilot input (PE), and b) the control commands are monitored by a second/monitoring channel and a second computer (MON), which checks whether the control commands are suitable for a given physical state of the aircraft and the pilot input, c) the second computer determines whether a current navigation state of the aircraft coincides with the pilot input, which has been transformed into a desired navigation state of the aircraft, preferably by the second computer, within a prescribed deviation, and d) a control signal for controlling the aircraft is generated in dependence on a determination result of step c).

Method for controlling an aircraft, control device for an aircraft and aircraft with such a control device

A motor control system (), preferably for an aircraft, having a plurality of motors (), each having a motor control unit () that includes a primary motor controller (COM) configured to provide motor control commands () to a corresponding motor (). The system () also has a system control unit (COMstring) in communication with each of the primary motor controllers (COM), configured to provide motor control commands () to the primary motor controllers. A system monitoring unit (MONstring) is connected to the system control unit for monitoring an operation thereof, and at least one sensor () determines an operation state of at least one of the motors. The sensor is connected with the system monitoring unit, which is configured to disable communication between the system control unit and the primary motor controllers and/or between the primary motor controllers and the motors based on the monitoring and/or the determined operation state.

Motor control system, method of operating a motor control system and aircraft

A method for operating an aircraft having multiple drive units including: a) providing a first flight control unit (CTRL-), which activates the drive units according to a first control implementation when CTRL-is active; b) providing a second flight control unit (CTRL-), which activates the drive units according to a second control implementation when CTRL-is active; c) continuously monitoring a function of the currently active flight control unit (CTRL-); d) changing the active flight control unit from the currently active flight control unit (CTRL-) to the newly active flight control unit (CTRL-) in dependence on a result of the monitoring in step c); in which the change in step d) for the newly active flight control unit (CTRL-) includes: d1) initializing starting values of a movement equation of the aircraft implemented in CTRL-using currently known state values (x) of the aircraft; d2) initializing integrators of CTRL-using control commands for the drive units from CTRL-; d3) difference equalization between control commands (u) for the drive units from CTRL-and control commands (u) for the drive units from CTRL-

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Heidelberg, Germany

Benjamin Kirsch