Hello, I am trying to figure out if there is any way to simulate wind disturbances on the default quadcopter model. Maybe introduce global wind to the environment?
Best regards,
Diogo.
There is a, “Force Fields” extension (and some documentation to go along with it) that will apply forces and torques to rigid bodies. One of the force fields is a Wind Force Field.
It has Properties that allow you to set the Average Wind Speed, Average Wind Direction but also the Speed Variation, Speed Variation Frequency and Direction Variation and Direction Variation Frequencies. The variation is controlled by a Perlin noise function, so the wind mimics turbulent air.
The net effect is a wind velocity vector that can be still or vary over time.
The difference between the wind velocity and the velocity of the Quadcopter is then calculated and a force is applied to the Quadcopter that gets scaled by the Drag Property. The higher the Drag, the larger the aerodynamic force.
This force is applied through the Center of Mass, but there is also an option to apply the force over the entire surface of the Quadcopter, called the Surface Sample Density. By making this value non-zero, the drag force is distributed over the surface and torques will also be applied, causing the Quadcopter to “weathervane” into the wind.
I think this will do what you want. It can add as much or as little wind disturbance to your simulation as you need so you can test your control system robustness.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Rick
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