---
_id: '1097'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: We present an interactive system for computational design, optimization, and
    fabrication of multicopters. Our computational approach allows non-experts to
    design, explore, and evaluate a wide range of different multicopters. We provide
    users with an intuitive interface for assembling a multicopter from a collection
    of components (e.g., propellers, motors, and carbon fiber rods). Our algorithm
    interactively optimizes shape and controller parameters of the current design
    to ensure its proper operation. In addition, we allow incorporating a variety
    of other metrics (such as payload, battery usage, size, and cost) into the design
    process and exploring tradeoffs between them. We show the efficacy of our method
    and system by designing, optimizing, fabricating, and operating multicopters with
    complex geometries and propeller configurations. We also demonstrate the ability
    of our optimization algorithm to improve the multicopter performance under different
    metrics.
acknowledgement: "We thank Nobuyuki Umetani for his insightful suggestions in our
  discussions. We thank Alan Schultz and his colleagues at NRL for building the hexacopter
  and for the valuable discussions. We thank Randall Davis, Boris Katz, and Howard
  Shrobe at MIT for their advice. We are grateful to Nick Bandiera for preprocessing
  mechanical parts and providing 3D printing technical support; Charles Blouin from
  RCBenchmark for dynamometer hardware support; Brian Saavedra for the composition
  UI; Yingzhe Yuan for data acquisition and video recording in the experiments; Michael
  Foshey and David Kim for their comments on the draft of the paper. \r\n\r\n\r\nThis
  work was partially supported by Air Force Research Laboratory’s sponsorship of Julia:
  A Fresh Approach to Technical Computing and Data Processing (Sponsor Award ID FA8750-15-2-
  0272, MIT Award ID 024831-00003), and NSF Expedition project (Sponsor Award ID CCF-1138967,
  MIT Award ID 020610-00002). The views expressed herein are not endorsed by the sponsors.
  This project has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
  and innovation program under grant agreement No 645599. "
alternative_title:
- ACM Transactions on Graphics
article_number: '227'
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Tao
  full_name: Du, Tao
  last_name: Du
- first_name: Adriana
  full_name: Schulz, Adriana
  last_name: Schulz
- first_name: Bo
  full_name: Zhu, Bo
  last_name: Zhu
- first_name: Bernd
  full_name: Bickel, Bernd
  id: 49876194-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Bickel
  orcid: 0000-0001-6511-9385
- first_name: Wojciech
  full_name: Matusik, Wojciech
  last_name: Matusik
citation:
  ama: 'Du T, Schulz A, Zhu B, Bickel B, Matusik W. Computational multicopter design.
    In: Vol 35. ACM; 2016. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2980179.2982427">10.1145/2980179.2982427</a>'
  apa: 'Du, T., Schulz, A., Zhu, B., Bickel, B., &#38; Matusik, W. (2016). Computational
    multicopter design (Vol. 35). Presented at the SIGGRAPH Asia: Conference and Exhibition
    on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia, Macao, China: ACM. <a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2980179.2982427">https://doi.org/10.1145/2980179.2982427</a>'
  chicago: Du, Tao, Adriana Schulz, Bo Zhu, Bernd Bickel, and Wojciech Matusik. “Computational
    Multicopter Design,” Vol. 35. ACM, 2016. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2980179.2982427">https://doi.org/10.1145/2980179.2982427</a>.
  ieee: 'T. Du, A. Schulz, B. Zhu, B. Bickel, and W. Matusik, “Computational multicopter
    design,” presented at the SIGGRAPH Asia: Conference and Exhibition on Computer
    Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia, Macao, China, 2016, vol. 35, no.
    6.'
  ista: 'Du T, Schulz A, Zhu B, Bickel B, Matusik W. 2016. Computational multicopter
    design. SIGGRAPH Asia: Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive
    Techniques in Asia, ACM Transactions on Graphics, vol. 35, 227.'
  mla: Du, Tao, et al. <i>Computational Multicopter Design</i>. Vol. 35, no. 6, 227,
    ACM, 2016, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2980179.2982427">10.1145/2980179.2982427</a>.
  short: T. Du, A. Schulz, B. Zhu, B. Bickel, W. Matusik, in:, ACM, 2016.
conference:
  end_date: 2016-12-08
  location: Macao, China
  name: 'SIGGRAPH Asia: Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive
    Techniques in Asia'
  start_date: 2016-12-05
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:50:07Z
date_published: 2016-11-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-22T14:17:29Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '006'
department:
- _id: BeBi
doi: 10.1145/2980179.2982427
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
  isi:
  - '000388446200069'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: system
  date_created: 2018-12-12T10:17:42Z
  date_updated: 2018-12-12T10:17:42Z
  file_id: '5298'
  file_name: IST-2017-759-v1+1_copter.pdf
  file_size: 33114420
  relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2018-12-12T10:17:42Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        35'
isi: 1
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '11'
oa: 1
oa_version: Submitted Version
project:
- _id: 25082902-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '645599'
  name: Soft-bodied intelligence for Manipulation
publication_status: published
publisher: ACM
publist_id: '6278'
pubrep_id: '759'
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Computational multicopter design
type: conference
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 35
year: '2016'
...