Comparative Analysis of Energy Efficiency and Position Stability of Sub-250 g Quadcopter and Bicopter with Similar Mass Under Varying Conditions

Artur Kierzkowski, Mateusz Woźniak and Paweł Bury ()
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Artur Kierzkowski: Department of Technical Systems Operation and Maintenance, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego Str., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Mateusz Woźniak: Department of Technical Systems Operation and Maintenance, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego Str., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Paweł Bury: Department of Technical Systems Operation and Maintenance, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego Str., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-18

Abstract: This paper investigates the energy efficiency and positional stability of two types of ultralight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—bicopter and quadcopter—both with mass below 250 g, under varying flight conditions. The study is motivated by increasing interest in low-weight drones due to their regulatory flexibility and application potential in constrained environments. A comparative methodology was adopted, involving the construction of both UAV types using identical components where possible, including motors, sensors, and power supply, differing only in propulsion configuration. Experimental tests were conducted in wind-free and wind-induced environments to assess power consumption and stability. The data were collected through onboard blackbox logging, and positional deviation was tracked via video analysis. Results show that while the quadcopter consistently demonstrated lower energy consumption (by 6–22%) and higher positional stability, the bicopter offered advantages in simplicity of frame design and reduced component count. However, the bicopter required extensive manual tuning of PID parameters due to the inherent instability introduced by servo-based control. The findings highlight the potential of bicopters in constrained applications, though they emphasize the need for precise control strategies and high-performance servos. The study fills a gap in empirical analysis of energy consumption in lightweight bicopter UAVs.

Keywords: BI copter; quadcopter; tilting-rotor; energy consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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