Tyto Robotics has demonstrated that detailed motor performance mapping can be achieved without relying on a traditional brake dynamometer.
While dynamometers are the standard for measuring motor torque, RPM, and power under controlled loads, Tyto Robotics explored an alternative using a motor-propeller thrust stand.
Using their Flight Stand 15 thrust stand, the team tested six propellers ranging from 11” to 30” in diameter. An automated step test with ten throttle increments from 1150 to 2000 µs was performed for each propeller. Data collected via the Flight Stand software was exported to CSV and processed using a Python-based Google Colab notebook, enabling the generation of motor performance maps adaptable to other datasets.
The motor power consumption map was created by modeling electrical power with a third-order polynomial, achieving a maximum error of only 0.5%. From this, a motor efficiency map was derived, showing highly accurate predictions in operational ranges, with less than 1% error for efficiencies between 74–86%.
This study confirms that thrust-stand-based testing, combined with robust data modeling, can effectively predict motor power and efficiency, offering a practical alternative to conventional dynamometers for UAV performance evaluation.
