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[[File:Quadcopter camera drone in flight.jpg|thumb|A [[DJI (company)|DJI]] [[Phantom (UAV)|Phantom]] quadcopter [[unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]] in flight]]
[[File:Racing Drone.jpg|thumb|Typical [[drone racing|racing quadcopter]] with [[Carbon fibers|carbon fiber]] frame and [[First-person view (radio control)|FPV]] camera]]
A '''quadcopter''', also called '''quadrocopter''', or '''quadrotor'''<ref name="dasc04"/> is a type of [[helicopter]] or [[multicopter]] that has four [[Helicopter rotor|rotors]].<ref name="hoffmanAugust2007"/>
Although quadrotor helicopters and [[convertiplane]]s have long been flown experimentally, the configuration remained a curiosity until the arrival of the modern [[
==Design principles==
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===Endurance===
The longest flight time achieved by a battery-powered quadcopter was 2 hours, 31 minutes and 30 seconds. The record was set by Ferdinand Kickinger of Germany in 2016.<ref>{{Citation|last=Ferdinand Kickinger|title=151min30s FPV with Copter|date=2016-04-30|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AUd7K1lG6o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/6AUd7K1lG6o |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-08-26}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In setting the record, Kickinger used low discharge-rate, high-capacity lithium-ion batteries and stripped the airframe of non-essential weight to reduce power draw and extend endurance.<ref>SPK Drones. [https://www.spkdrones.com/how-quadcopters-fly/ How Quadcopters Fly] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806230915/https://www.spkdrones.com/how-quadcopters-fly/ |date=6 August 2020 }}.</ref>
Alternative power sources like hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid gas-electric generators have been used to dramatically extend endurance because of the increased energy density of both hydrogen and gasoline, respectively.<ref>McNabb, Miriam (February 2018). [https://dronelife.com/2018/02/22/us-drone-manufacturer-harris-aerial-launches-new-hybrid-gas-electric-drone/ US Manufacturer Harris Aerial Launches New Hybrid Gas Electric Drone]. ''Dronelife''</ref>
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===Postwar era===
The [[Convertawings Model A Quadrotor]] was intended to be the prototype for a line of much larger civil and military helicopters. The design featured two engines driving four rotors through a system of v belts. No tail rotor was needed and control was obtained by varying the thrust between rotors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1956/1956%20-%201564.html|title=1956 - 1564 - Flight Archive|work=flightglobal.com|access-date=13 March 2015}}</ref> Flown many times from 1956, this helicopter proved the quadrotor design and it was also the first four-rotor helicopter to demonstrate successful forward flight. Due to a lack of orders for commercial or military versions however, the project was terminated. Convertawings proposed a Model E that would have a maximum weight of {{convert|42000|lb|t|abbr=on}} with a payload of {{convert|10900|lb|t|abbr=on}} over 300 miles and at up to {{convert|173|mph|abbr=on}}. The Hanson Elastic Articulated (EA) bearingless rotor grew out of work done in the early 1960s at Lockheed California by Thomas F. Hanson, who had previously worked at Convertawings on the quadrotor's rotor design and control system.<ref>{{cite web|url=
The [[Gloster Aircraft Company|Gloster]] Crop Sprayer project of 1960 was an early example of a quadcopter drone. To be powered by a 105 hp Potez 4E air-cooled flat four-cylinder engine, its 20 gal payload was discharged through a 22 ft spray boom. Two operators carried homing beacons at opposite ends of the spray run, so that the quadcopter would always home in on a beacon and not overshoot. However, despite the much simplified design and operational requirements compared to a piloted machine, the parent company board refused to develop it and it remained a paper project.<ref>James, Derek N.; ''Gloster Aircraft Since 1917'', Putnam, 1971, p.413.</ref>
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[[File:Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 take-off, Nevada.jpg|thumb|[[Parrot AR.Drone]] 2.0 take-off, Nevada, 2012]]
[[Airbus]] is developing a battery-powered quadcopter to act as an urban air taxi, at first with a pilot but potentially autonomous in the future.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://
===Drones===
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While small toy remote-controlled quadcopters were produced in Japan already in the early 1990s, the first one with a camera to be produced in significant quantities (Draganflyer Stabilized Aerial Video System, [[retronym|retrospectively also]] Draganflyer I, by Canadian start-up [[Draganfly]]) was not designed until 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/brief-history-quadrotors-180963372/|title=A Brief History of Quadrotors|first=Ed|last=Darack|website=Air & Space Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.draganfly.com/story|title= Our Story | Draganfly|website= draganfly.com|archive-url= https://archive.today/20161212143859/https://www.draganfly.com/story|archive-date= 12 December 2016|url-status= dead|access-date= 17 December 2021}}</ref>
Around 2005 to 2010, advances in electronics allowed the production of cheap lightweight flight controllers, [[accelerometer]]s ([[Inertial measurement unit|IMU]]), [[global positioning systems|global positioning system]] and cameras. This resulted in the quadcopter configuration becoming popular for small [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s. With their small size and maneuverability, these quadcopters can be flown indoors as well as outdoors.<ref name="dasc04">{{cite conference | first = G.M. | last = Hoffmann |author2=Rajnarayan, D.G. |author3=Waslander, S.L. |author4=Dostal, D. |author5=Jang, J.S. |author6=Tomlin, C.J. | title = The Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi Agent Control (STARMAC) | book-title = In the Proceedings of the 23rd Digital Avionics System Conference | pages = 12.E.4/1–10 | date = November 2004 | location = Salt Lake City, UT | doi = 10.1109/DASC.2004.1390847 | isbn = 0-7803-8539-X | citeseerx = 10.1.1.74.9999 }}</ref><ref name="büchi11">{{cite book| last = Büchi | first = Roland | title = Fascination Quadrocopter | year = 2011 | publisher = Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-8423-6731-9 }}</ref>
For small drones, quadcopters are cheaper and more durable than conventional helicopters due to their mechanical simplicity.<ref name="acra2006">{{cite conference | first = P. | last = Pounds |author2=Mahony, R. |author3=Corke, P. | title = Modelling and Control of a Quad-Rotor Robot | book-title = In the Proceedings of the Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation | date = December 2006 | location = Auckland, New Zealand | url = http://www.araa.asn.au/acra/acra2006/papers/paper_5_26.pdf }}</ref> Their smaller blades are also advantageous because they possess less kinetic energy, reducing their ability to cause damage. For small-scale quadcopters, this makes the vehicles safer for close interaction. It is also possible to fit quadcopters with guards that enclose the rotors, further reducing the potential for damage.<ref name="hoffmanAugust2007">{{cite conference | first = G. | last = Hoffman | author2 = Huang, H. | author3 = Waslander, S.L. | author4 = Tomlin, C.J. | title = Quadrotor Helicopter Flight Dynamics and Control: Theory and Experiment | book-title = In the Conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics | date = 20–23 August 2007 | location = Hilton Head, South Carolina | url = http://hoffmann.stanford.edu/papers/Quadrotor_Dynamics_GNC07.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100813162324/http://hoffmann.stanford.edu/papers/Quadrotor_Dynamics_GNC07.pdf | archive-date = 13 August 2010 }}</ref> However, as size increases, fixed propeller quadcopters develop disadvantages relative to conventional helicopters. Increasing blade size increases their momentum. This means that changes in blade speed take longer, which negatively impacts control. Helicopters do not experience this problem as increasing the size of the rotor disk does not significantly impact the ability to control blade pitch.
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==See also==
* [[AeroVelo Atlas]]
* [[
* [[Modular design]]
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