Conceptual Design of a NEW Recovery System for Small Fixed-Wing UAVs

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming an important part of modern rescue operations where quick access to information can save lives. Small fixed-wing UAVs help the Swedish Sea Rescue Society (SSRS) gain situational awareness, but recovering these UAVs after a mission comes with challenges. Today, they land on water, which works though it slows down urgent missions. Retrieval can also be difficult in bad weather, and occasionally the UAVs are lost or damaged. The goal of this thesis is to develop a new land-based recovery system to safely catch SSRS’s small fixed-wing UAVs without adding extra components to the fixed-wing UAV. To achieve this, the thesis begins by introducing the problem and reviewing existing recovery methods (from hooks and nets to more advanced control-based approaches) before detailing how concepts were generated, compared, and refined through a structured design process. The final concept combines a precise XY alignment subsystem, inspired by the motion control in 3D printers, with a mechanical capture subsystem that captures the UAV without damaging it. Based on kinematic simulation and subsystem-level evaluations, the recovery system is capable of working in practice and offers a clear path towards physical prototyping. The thesis ends by outlining the next steps needed to bring this recovery system closer to real-world testing and future use in SSRS rescue missions