Development and experimental validation of a general-purpose flight controller for autonomous aerospace platforms

Abstract

This paper presents the development and first experimental validation stage of a general-purpose flight controller intended for use across multiple autonomous aerial platforms, including multicopters, fixed wing aircraft, vertical take off and landing systems, and thrust vector controlled vehicles. The work is based on the development of the proposed Flight Controller, a modular embedded control platform designed to integrate the essential functions required for autonomous flight, including real time data acquisition, onboard signal processing, attitude estimation, actuator command generation, communication, data storage, and experimental validation of control algorithms. The controller was conceived as a flexible research and development platform, combining inertial sensing, pressure measurement, satellite navigation capability, external communication interfaces, actuator outputs, protected power regulation, and modular expansion options within a unified architecture. The first version of the system focuses on validating the electrical design, sensor integration, software structure, communication interfaces, and basic control capability required for stable operation in flight conditions. This version has already been successfully tested on a quadcopter, demonstrating its ability to operate as a multicopter flight control unit and confirming the functionality of the complete sensing, processing, and actuation chain under real operating conditions. Through this initial implementation and flight testing campaign, the project establishes the foundation for a deployable, configurable, and general-purpose flight controller suitable for future aerospace research, autonomous vehicle development, and thrust vector control applications.