Decoupled hand controls for aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing and forward flight capabilities
A forward velocity associated with an aircraft is received. The aircraft includes a multicopter with a plurality of rotors which rotate in a substantially horizontal plane. A pitch offset is determined based at least in part on the forward velocity, where the pitch offset changes monotonically with the forward velocity. A desired pitch is determined based at least in part on the pitch offset and a pitch angle specified via a hand control. A plurality of control signals for the plurality of rotors is determined based at least in part on the desired pitch.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving a forward velocity associated with an aircraft, wherein the aircraft includes a multicopter with a plurality of rotors which rotate in a substantially horizontal plane;
determining a pitch offset based at least in part on the forward velocity, wherein the pitch offset changes monotonically with the forward velocity;
determining a desired pitch based at least in part on the pitch offset and a pitch angle specified via a hand control; and
determining a plurality of control signals for the plurality of rotors based at least in part on the desired pitch.
2. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein determining the desired pitch includes summing the pitch offset and the pitch angle specified via the hand control, wherein the pitch angle specified via the hand control is non-zero.
3. A system, comprising:
a flight controller that:
receives a forward velocity associated with an aircraft, wherein the aircraft includes a multicopter with a plurality of rotors which rotate in a substantially horizontal plane;
determines a pitch offset based at least in part on the forward velocity, wherein the pitch offset changes monotonically with the forward velocity;
determines a desired pitch based at least in part on the pitch offset and a pitch angle specified via a hand control; and
determines a plurality of control signals for the plurality of rotors based at least in part on the desired pitch; and
the plurality of rotors that are controlled using the plurality of control signals.
4. The system recited in claim 3 , wherein determining the desired pitch includes summing the pitch offset and the pitch angle specified via the hand control, wherein the pitch angle specified via the hand control is non-zero.