Quadrocopters are primitive aerial vehicles, which have its own control system. Because of this control system and its stabilization ability it can be seen as a self-operating partial-autonomous system.
We focus on mechatronics and control on this particular use case. For controlling, a simulation model with dynamic equations of the quadrocopter is generated within the domain-specific software tool Matlab / Simulink. This model consists of a set of non-linear differential equations which descripe the position and orientation of the quadrocopter in space. As an input for this simulation on the one hand the steering inputs of the system is used, on the other hand also external interferences are considered (e.g. wind). For this, the characteristic function for the transfer behaviour is accounted for.
Besides the controlling, structural optimization plays a major role in this use case not least because the quadrocopter is a best-suited example for lightweight design. For this reason, topology optimization models are automatically generated and different product designs are derived from its results. These desings have direct influence on the controlling model as the geometry is used as an input (intertia matrix). The overall product design process of a quadrocopter exhibits amongst others cost and montage simulation models and functions as a holistic model of the digital product life cycle.