A new design method for multi-rotor aircraft with distributed electric propulsion is presented
to ensure a property of robustness against rotor failure from the control perspective. Based on the concept of null controllability, a quality measure is derived to evaluate and quantify the performance of a given design with the consideration of rotor failure. An optimization
problem whose cost function is based on the quality measure is formulated and its optimal solution identifies a set of optimal design parameters that maximizes an aircraft’s ability to control its attitude and hence its position. The effectiveness of the proposed design procedure
is validated through the results of experimentation with the Autonomous Flying Ambulance model being developed at Caltech’s Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies
