Airspeed sensors to increase the safety of VTOL drones

18th September 2017

SENSIRION

Lanna Deamer

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Datasheet

Manufacturer of digital microsensors and systems, Sensirion has announced the SDP3x, what the company claims to be the world's smallest differential pressure sensor, which is now available in an airspeed sensor development kit for Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications.

The reference design was developed in collaboration with PX4 Pro and is fully integrated with the open source autopilot. The integration includes a full aerodynamic software compensation model for the sensor and pitot tube, making it a plug-and-play solution.

Most airspeed sensors require calibration before every flight to guarantee accuracy, and are not sensitive enough to produce reliable readings at low airspeeds. The fully calibrated and temperature-compensated SDP3x sensor solves these problems and offers accuracy and resolution. The calibration-free setup enables instant launch of VTOL drones, dramatically increasing the user experience for end users. High sensitivity at low airspeeds allows closed-loop control during the transition phase from hovering to forward flight, increasing the reliability and safety of VTOL drones.

The performance of the SDP3x sensor is based on Sensirion’s CMOSens sensor technology, which combines the sensor element, signal processing and digital calibration on a small CMOS chip. The differential pressure is measured by a thermal sensor element with flow-through technology.