| Summary: | Thesis (M.Eng.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2010. Engineering and Applied Science Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-115) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a promising field of research due to the enormous potential for both military and civilian applications. This thesis focuses on increasing the autonomy of one type of rotary wing UAV; namely a Quad-rotor Helicopter. -- In this work a detailed mathematical model was introduced for simulation of the dynamics and control of this system. The dynamic model evolved from a simple set of equations, valid only for hovering, to a complex mathematical model with more realistic aerodynamic factors like thrust factor and drag factor. A simple yet precise tool was developed to measure these aerodynamic factors. An intelligent vision based control technique has been proposed for the critical, near-hovering flight of the vehicle. Finally, a platform was developed and a PD controller was implemented with inertial sensors in order to prepare the platform for implementing the vision-based control in the future.
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