Abstract

This letter comprehensively presents a detailed quadrotor UAV energy consumption model established from the bottom of this system, i.e. the fundamental dynamics of the four BLDC motors, towards a trajectory based energy consumption calculation. The dynamics of a quadrotor and the influence of aerodynamics on thrust coefficient and torque coefficient are modelled as well. The simulation results show validity and feasibility, and are consistent with the classical helicopter theory, offering the community a promisingly handy tool to design UAV trajectories for mobile communication network designs.