A micro barometric altimeter with applications in altitude-holding flight control for MAVs

This paper describes the development of the altimeter for micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) and its application in altitude-holding flight. The potential missions for MAVs include military missions and commercial applications, such as visual reconnaissance, communications relay, search and rescue and field research. For these missions, the altitude control is needed. A micro barometric altimeter was developed as part of the control system to feature altitude hold. The 3-gram altimeter has a high resolution and accuracy. The low frequency noise caused by vibration of airframe is observed, so the Kalman filter is implemented. When this altimeter and PD control law were tested on several unmanned aerial vehicles such as one with 680 mm span, the vehicle succeeded in hovering automatically.