20.500.12556/RUL-136714 Exploiting solar energy during an aerial mapping mission on a lightweight UAV In this study, we present options for extending the endurance of a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), along with their advantages and disadvantages. We present a developed solution based on the use of gallium–arsenide (GaAs) solar modules installed on a UAV and connected to a custom-made maximum power point tracker (MPPT) with an integrated perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm. The mathematical behavior required to calculate the electrical energy production from solar energy on the UAV from known UAV angles of rotation, the position of the sun in the sky, solar irradiance measurements, the solar module area and the solar modules efficiency is presented. A comparison of the calculated and actual measured electrical energy production results during an aerial mapping mission is presented. We perform a number of aerial mapping mission flights and the experimental results confirm an energy efficiency value of more than 96.27% for the MPPT and extended flight endurance by up to 21.25%. In addition, onboard measurements and other data captured during flights confirm the proposed electrical energy production calculation. unmanned aerial vehicle UAV solar energy solar cells endurance extension maximum power point tracker MPPT electrical energy rotation matrix green energy brezpilotna letala sončna energija sončne celice podaljšanje avtonomije sledenje točki največje moči true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2022-05-17 10:17:35 2022-05-17 10:17:36 2022-09-15 04:14:13 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2021 0 0 21 str. iss. 22, art. 2876 Vol. 10 Nov. 2021 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 629.014.9:502.21:523.9 2079-9292 10.3390/electronics10222876 86024451 electronics-10-02876-v2.pdf electronics-10-02876-v2.pdf 1 97C0972861B3D0F87A20D531C755F032 63f9723fb4d61dd5266e5a8e38c1a5f82a9f8dae0b3f434ef9ddbee9fb3de72d f13cfaa1-d5b9-11ec-8aca-00155dcfd717 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=156467 https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/10/22/2876 1 b17e1d78-d5b9-11ec-8aca-00155dcfd717 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=156466 Fakulteta za elektrotehniko 0 0 0