ABSTRACT
The problem of interfacing Engine Control Units (ECUs) with autopilots in Unmanned
Arial Vehicles (UAVs), in the presence of modular communication protocols, is a
considerable concern in the UAV industry. This paper presents a development
algorithm for interface circuits between ECUs and autopilots for UAVs. The algorithm
developed was based on testing and analysing the communication protocols for both
the autopilot and the ECU. The engine selected for the analysis was the Zanzottera
498H engine and the autopilot was a generic one that produces PWM commands for
the actuators. For off-line testing of the developed interface circuit communication
performance with the ECU, a hardware PWM generator circuit was developed to
mimic the generated autopilot protocol signal. The present work illustrates the steps
to analyse both protocols and the procedures to develop such an interface circuit.
Finally, the interface circuit was tested experimentally and showed good performance
in communication between the autopilot and the ECU.