Abstract
This paper presents the development and experimental investigation of a power supply system for a tethered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based on a multilevel inverter using IGBT transistors. The relevance of this research is determined by the need to ensure stable and energy-efficient power supply for multicopter platforms operating in long-duration flight modes. The proposed power supply system includes a ground-based energy source, a multilevel inverter with a rated power of up to 3 kW, and an on-board power unit of the multicopter system, which provides voltage conversion to the level required for supplying the on-board systems of the UAV. The inverter converts the energy from the ground power source into AC voltage of 220 V, 50 Hz, which is transmitted through a tethered power supply cable to the quadcopter, where the voltage is further reduced to 22.2 V to power the on-board equipment. Particular attention is given to the implementation of a telemetry-based monitoring system for power parameters, which enables continuous monitoring of voltage, current, and temperature parameters of the power electronic components during UAV operation. Laboratory and field tests of the experimental prototype confirmed the stability of the inverter output parameters, high efficiency, and reliable system performance under varying tethered UAV flight heights and different load conditions. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of the developed multilevel inverter-based power supply system with telemetry monitoring for ensuring long-duration and reliable operation of tethered multicopter platforms.