Affordable Data Collection System for UAVs Taxi Vibration Testing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-cost, in-house-developed acceleration data acquisition system for UAV vibration testing, demonstrating reliable performance and affordability compared to commercial options, suitable for small-scale aerospace research.

Contribution

The work presents a novel, affordable DAQ system using single-board computers and MEMS sensors, validated through UAV vibration tests, offering a scalable alternative to expensive commercial systems.

Findings

System provides consistent multi-sensor acceleration data

Achieves stable sampling rate of approximately 208 Hz

Demonstrates repeatable PSD profiles under same test conditions

Abstract

Structural vibration testing plays a key role in aerospace engineering for evaluating dynamic behaviour, ensuring reliability and verifying structural integrity. These tests rely on accurate and robust data acquisition systems (DAQ) to capture high-quality acceleration data. However, commercial DAQs that provide the required performance and features are often expensive and complex, limiting their accessibility for small-scale research and experimental applications. This work presents the design and experimental validation of an affordable and in-house-developed acceleration DAQ, tested on a small fixed-wing UAV through several Taxi Vibration Test (TVT) runs and ambient vibration measurements. The proposed system integrates several OrangePi 3 LTS single-board computers with multiple LSM6DS3TR-C MEMS inertial measurement units operating simultaneously via an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) communication interface, managed under a Python-based master/slave architecture. Data is acquired at a stable sampling rate of approximately 208 Hz and post-processed using Welch's method to estimate their Power Spectral Density (PSD). Results confirm the system ability to provide consistent multi-sensor acceleration data and repeatable PSD profiles under the same test conditions; thus, demonstrating its reliability. With a total hardware cost below 600 EUR (approximately 690 USD), the developed DAQ offers a compact, scalable and cost-effective alternative for aerospace vibration analysis and structural testing.