Safety improvement of fixed wing mini-UAV based on handy FDI current sensor and a FailSafe configuration of control surface actuators

This paper proposes a low cost Fail-Safe and Fault Detecting system to be installed on-board a fixed wing mini-UAV in order to detect possible servo actuator failures that can result in the loss of the control of command surfaces, causing critical issues related to flight safety in civil airspaces. The proposed system is based on non-invasive current measurement and a simple redundant servo configuration. The description of the system is presented together with tests operated on a prototype.