Search results for: UAV

Authors: Pavel Zikmund, Robert Popela

Abstract:

Extreme formation is a theoretical concept of selfsustain flight when a big airliner is followed by a small UAV glider flying in the airliner wake vortex. The paper presents results of a climb analysis with the goal to lift the gliding UAV to airliners cruise altitude. Wake vortex models, the UAV drag polar and basic parameters and airliner’s climb profile are introduced at first. Afterwards, flight performance of the UAV in a wake vortex is evaluated by analytical methods. Time history of optimal distance between an airliner and the UAV during a climb is determined. The results are encouraging. Therefore available UAV drag margin for electricity generation is figured out for different vortex models.

Keywords: Flight in formation, self-sustained flight, UAV, wake vortex.

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Authors: Jae-Young Choi, Sung-Gaun Kim

Abstract:

This paper suggests a fast and stable Target Tracking system in collaborative control of UAV and UGV. Wi-Fi communication range is limited in collaborative control of UAV and UGV. Thus, to secure a stable communications, UAV and UGV have to be kept within a certain distance from each other. But existing method which uses UAV Vertical Camera to follow the motion of UGV is likely to lose a target with a sudden movement change. Eventually, UGV has disadvantages that it could only move at a low speed and not make any sudden change of direction in order to keep track of the target. Therefore, we suggest utilizing AR Drone UAV front camera to track fast-moving and Omnidirectional Mecanum Wheel UGV.

Keywords: Collaborative control, UAV, UGV, Target Tracking.

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Authors: Mihai Lungu

Abstract:

The paper presents the design of a mini-UAV attitude controller using the backstepping method. Starting from the nonlinear dynamic equations of the mini-UAV, by using the backstepping method, the author of this paper obtained the expressions of the elevator, rudder and aileron deflections, which stabilize the UAV, at each moment, to the desired values of the attitude angles. The attitude controller controls the attitude angles, the angular rates, the angular accelerations and other variables that describe the UAV longitudinal and lateral motions. To design the nonlinear controller, by using the backstepping technique, the nonlinear equations and the Lyapunov analysis have been directly used. The designed controller has been implemented in Matlab/Simulink environment and its effectiveness has been tested with a campaign of numerical simulations using data from the UAV flight tests. The obtained results are very good and they are better than the ones found in previous works.

Keywords: Attitude angles, Backstepping, Controller, UAV.

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Authors: Wei Dong, Guo-Ying Gu, Xiangyang Zhu, Han Ding

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This paper presents preliminary results on modeling and control of a quadrotor UAV. With aerodynamic concepts, a mathematical model is firstly proposed to describe the dynamics of the quadrotor UAV. Parameters of this model are identified by experiments with Matlab Identify Toolbox. A group of PID controllers are then designed based on the developed model. To verify the developed model and controllers, simulations and experiments for altitude control, position control and trajectory tracking are carried out. The results show that the quadrotor UAV well follows the referenced commands, which clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Keywords: Quadrotor UAV, Modeling, Control, Aerodynamics, System Identification.

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Authors: T. Ahilan, V. Aswin Adityan, S. Kailash

Abstract:

UAV’s are small remote operated or automated aerial surveillance systems without a human pilot aboard. UAV’s generally finds its use in military and special operation application, a recent growing trend in UAV’s finds its application in several civil and nonmilitary works such as inspection of power or pipelines. The objective of this paper is the augmentation of a UAV in order to replace the existing expensive sonar (Sound Navigation And Ranging) based equipment amongst small scale fisherman, for whom access to sonar equipment are restricted due to limited economic resources. The surveillance equipment’s present in the UAV will relay data and GPS (Global Positioning System) location onto a receiver on the fishing boat using RF signals, using which the location of the schools of fishes can be found. In addition to this, an emergency beacon system is present for rescue operations and drone recovery.

Keywords: GPS, RF signals, School of fish, Sonar, Surveillance UAV, Video stream.

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Authors: Chien-Chun Hung, Chun-Fong Wu

Abstract:

It is important for a commander to have real-time information to aware situations and to make decision in the battlefield. Results of modern technique developments have brought in this kind of information for military purposes. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is one of the means to gather intelligence owing to its widespread applications. It is still not clear whether or not the mini UAV with short-range wireless transmission system is used as a reconnaissance system in Taiwanese. In this paper, previous experience on the research of the sort of aerial vehicles has been applied with a data-relay system using the ZigBee modulus. The mini UAV developed is expected to be able to collect certain data in some appropriate theaters. The omni-directional antenna with high gain is also integrated into mini UAV to fit the size-reducing trend of airborne sensors. Two advantages are so far obvious. First, mini UAV can fly higher than usual to avoid being attacked from ground fires. Second, the data will be almost gathered during all maneuvering attitudes.

Keywords: Mini UAV, reconnaissance, wireless transmission, ZigBee modulus.

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Authors: Mohammed Qasim, Kyoung-Dae Kim

Abstract:

In this paper, we present the design of the super-ellipsoidal potential function (SEPF), that can be used for autonomous collision avoidance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a 3-dimensional space. In the design of SEPF, we have the full control over the shape and size of the potential function. In particular, we can adjust the length, width, height, and the amount of flattening at the tips of the potential function so that the collision avoidance motion vector generated from the potential function can be adjusted accordingly. Based on the idea of the SEPF, we also propose an approach for the local autonomy of a UAV for its collision avoidance when the UAV is teleoperated by a human operator. In our proposed approach, a teleoperated UAV can not only avoid collision autonomously with other surrounding objects but also track the operator’s control input as closely as possible. As a result, an operator can always be in control of the UAV for his/her high-level guidance and navigation task without worrying too much about the UAVs collision avoidance while it is being teleoperated. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a human-in-the-loop simulation of quadrotor UAV teleoperation using virtual robot experimentation platform (v-rep) and Matlab programs.

Keywords: Artificial potential function, autonomy, collision avoidance, teleoperation, quadrotor, UAV.

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Authors: Jae-Neung Lee, Keun-Chang Kwak

Abstract:

This paper describes an analysis of domestic and international trends of image processing for data in UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and also explains about UAV and Quadcopter. Overseas examples of image processing using UAV include image processing for totaling the total numberof vehicles, edge/target detection, detection and evasion algorithm, image processing using SIFT(scale invariant features transform) matching, and application of median filter and thresholding. In Korea, many studies are underway including visualization of new urban buildings.

Keywords: Image Processing, UAV, Quadcopter, Target detection.

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Authors: Tugrul Oktay, Mehmet Konar, Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed, Murat Aydin, Firat Sal, Murat Onay, Mustafa Soylak

Abstract:

In this paper, it is aimed to improve autonomous flight performance of a load-carrying (payload: 3 kg and total: 6kg) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) through active wing and horizontal tail active morphing and also integrated autopilot system parameters (i.e. P, I, D gains) and UAV parameters (i.e. extension ratios of wing and horizontal tail during flight) design. For this purpose, a loadcarrying UAV (i.e. ZANKA-II) is manufactured in Erciyes University, College of Aviation, Model Aircraft Laboratory is benefited. Optimum values of UAV parameters and autopilot parameters are obtained using a stochastic optimization method. Using this approach autonomous flight performance of UAV is substantially improved and also in some adverse weather conditions an opportunity for safe flight is satisfied. Active morphing and integrated design approach gives confidence, high performance and easy-utility request of UAV users.

Keywords: Unmanned aerial vehicles, morphing, autopilots, autonomous performance.

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Authors: Zhou Luchen, Wu Yubing, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

Abstract:

As the scale of the network becomes larger and more complex than before, the density of user devices is also increasing. The development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks is able to collect and transform data in an efficient way by using software-defined networks (SDN) technology. This paper proposed a three-layer distributed and dynamic cluster architecture to manage UAVs by using an AI-based resource allocation calculation algorithm to address the overloading network problem. Through separating services of each UAV, the UAV hierarchical cluster system performs the main function of reducing the network load and transferring user requests, with three sub-tasks including data collection, communication channel organization, and data relaying. In this cluster, a head node and a vice head node UAV are selected considering the CPU, RAM, and ROM memory of devices, battery charge, and capacity. The vice head node acts as a backup that stores all the data in the head node. The k-means clustering algorithm is used in order to detect high load regions and form the UAV layered clusters. The whole process of detecting high load areas, forming and selecting UAV clusters, and moving the selected UAV cluster to that area is proposed as offloading traffic algorithm.

Keywords: k-means, resource allocation, SDN, UAV network, unmanned aerial vehicles.

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Authors: I. Khabbazi, R. Ghasemi

Abstract:

This paper presents a combination of both robust nonlinear controller and nonlinear controller for a class of nonlinear 4Y Octorotor UAV using Back-stepping and sliding mode controller. The robustness against internal and external disturbance and decoupling control are the merits of the proposed paper. The proposed controller decouples the Octorotor dynamical system. The controller is then applied to a 4Y Octortor UAV and its feature will be shown.

Keywords: Backstepping, Decoupling, Octorotor UAV, sliding mode.

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Authors: Igor Astrov, Andrus Pedai

Abstract:

This paper focuses on a critical component of the situational awareness (SA), the control of autonomous vertical flight for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Autonomous vertical flight is a challenging but important task for tactical UAVs to achieve high level of autonomy under adverse conditions. With the SA strategy, we proposed a two stage flight control procedure using two autonomous control subsystems to address the dynamics variation and performance requirement difference in initial and final stages of flight trajectory for a nontrivial nonlinear trirotor mini-UAV model. This control strategy for chosen mini-UAV model has been verified by simulation of hovering maneuvers using software package Simulink and demonstrated good performance for fast SA in realtime search-and-rescue operations.

Keywords: Flight control, trirotor aircraft, situational awareness, unmanned aerial vehicle.

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Authors: Yun-Yao Chi, Chieh-Kai Tsai, Dai-Ling Li

Abstract:

In this paper, a method of fast 3D topography modeling using the high-resolution camera images is studied based on the characteristics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry and the need of three dimensional (3D) urban landscape modeling. Firstly, the existing high-resolution digital camera with special design of overlap images is designed by reconstructing and analyzing the auto-flying paths of UAVs, which improves the self-calibration function to achieve the high precision imaging by software, and further increased the resolution of the imaging system. Secondly, several-angle images including vertical images and oblique images gotten by the UAV system are used for the detail measure of urban land surfaces and the texture extraction. Finally, the aerial photography and 3D topography construction are both developed in campus of Chang-Jung University and in Guerin district area in Tainan, Taiwan, provide authentication model for construction of 3D topography based on combined UAV-based camera images from system. The results demonstrated that the UAV system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry can be used in the construction of 3D topography production, and the technology solution in this paper offers a new, fast, and technical plan for the 3D expression of the city landscape, fine modeling and visualization.

Keywords: 3D, topography, UAV, images.

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Authors: Chien-Chun Hung, Yao-Jen Teng, Yung-Sheng Tien, Yu-Tsung Tsai

Abstract:

Microstrip antennas are conformable to planar and nonplanar surfaces, simple and inexpensive to fabricate using modern printed-circuit technology. Circular polarization of low-profile microstrip patch with high bandwidth is achieved in this research through the use of a three-cross-arms branch-line coupler with sequential rotated arrays, another low-profile antenna of hollow cylinder is also proposed and the function of reconnaissance with microstrip antenna on Mini UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) are evaluated in practical flight test.

Keywords: low-profile antenna, Mini UAV, reconnaissance

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Authors: Khairul Nizam Tahar, Anuar Ahmad

Abstract:

This paper has introduced a slope photogrammetric mapping using unmanned aerial vehicle. There are two units of UAV has been used in this study; namely; fixed wing and multi-rotor. Both UAVs were used to capture images at the study area. A consumer digital camera was mounted vertically at the bottom of UAV and captured the images at an altitude. The objectives of this study are to obtain three dimensional coordinates of slope area and to determine the accuracy of photogrammetric product produced from both UAVs. Several control points and checkpoints were established Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS) in the study area. All acquired images from both UAVs went through all photogrammetric processes such as interior orientation, exterior orientation, aerial triangulation and bundle adjustment using photogrammetric software. Two primary results were produced in this study; namely; digital elevation model and digital orthophoto. Based on results, UAV system can be used to mapping slope area especially for limited budget and time constraints project.

Keywords: Slope mapping, 3D, DEM, UAV, Photogrammetry, image processing.

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Authors: Ibrahim A. Aref, Tarek A. El-Mihoub

Abstract:

This paper shows how we can integrate communication modeling into the design modeling at early stages of the design flow. We consider effect of incorporating noise such as impulsive noise on system stability. We show that with change of the system model and investigate the system performance under the different communication effects. We modeled a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a demonstration using SystemC methodology. Moreover the system is modeled by joining the capabilities of UML and SystemC to operate at system level.

Keywords: Modelling, SoC, SystemC, UAV, Simulation, SoC.

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Authors: Hafiz ul Azad, Dragan V.Lazic, Waqar Shahid

Abstract:

This paper presents implementation of attitude controller for a small UAV using field programmable gate array (FPGA). Due to the small size constrain a miniature more compact and computationally extensive; autopilot platform is needed for such systems. More over UAV autopilot has to deal with extremely adverse situations in the shortest possible time, while accomplishing its mission. FPGAs in the recent past have rendered themselves as fast, parallel, real time, processing devices in a compact size. This work utilizes this fact and implements different attitude controllers for a small UAV in FPGA, using its parallel processing capabilities. Attitude controller is designed in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The discrete version of this controller is implemented using pipelining followed by retiming, to reduce the critical path and thereby clock period of the controller datapath. Pipelined, retimed, parallel PID controller implementation is done using rapidprototyping and testing efficient development tool of “system generator", which has been developed by Xilinx for FPGA implementation. The improved timing performance enables the controller to react abruptly to any changes made to the attitudes of UAV.

Keywords: Field Programmable gate array (FPGA), Hardwaredescriptive Language (HDL), PID, Pipelining, Retiming, XilinxSystem Generator.

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Authors: Kamran Turkoglu, Ugur Ozdemir, Melike Nikbay, Elbrous M. Jafarov

Abstract:

In this paper, an automatic control system design based on Integral Squared Error (ISE) parameter optimization technique has been implemented on longitudinal flight dynamics of an UAV. It has been aimed to minimize the error function between the reference signal and the output of the plant. In the following parts, objective function has been defined with respect to error dynamics. An unconstrained optimization problem has been solved analytically by using necessary and sufficient conditions of optimality, optimum PID parameters have been obtained and implemented in control system dynamics.

Keywords: Optimum Design, KKT Conditions, UAV, Longitudinal Flight Dynamics, ISE Parameter Optimization.

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Authors: Nikhil Ramaswamy, S.N.Omkar, Kashyap.H.Nathwani, Anil.M.Vanjare

Abstract:

In this present work, the development of an avionics system for flight data collection of a Raptor 30 V2 is carried out. For the data acquisition both onground and onboard avionics systems are developed for testing of a small-scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) helicopter. The onboard avionics record the helicopter state outputs namely accelerations, angular rates and Euler angles, in real time, and the on ground avionics system record the inputs given to the radio controlled helicopter through a transmitter, in real time. The avionic systems are designed and developed taking into consideration low weight, small size, anti-vibration, low power consumption, and easy interfacing. To mitigate the medium frequency vibrations embedded on the UAV helicopter during flight, a damper is designed and its performance is evaluated. A number of flight tests are carried out and the data obtained is then analyzed for accuracy and repeatability and conclusions are inferred.

Keywords: Data collection, Flight Testing, Onground and Onboard Avionics, UAV helicopter

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Authors: A. Elsayed Ahmed, A. Hafez, A. N. Ouda, H. Eldin Hussein Ahmed, H. Mohamed Abd-Elkader

Abstract:

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are playing increasingly prominent roles in defense programs and defense strategies around the world. Technology advancements have enabled the development of it to do many excellent jobs as reconnaissance, surveillance, battle fighters, and communications relays. Simulating a small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) dynamics and analyzing its behavior at the preflight stage is too important and more efficient. The first step in the UAV design is the mathematical modeling of the nonlinear equations of motion. . In this paper, a survey with a standard method to obtain the full non-linear equations of motion is utilized, and then the linearization of the equations according to a steady state flight condition (trimming) is derived. This modeling technique is applied to an Ultrastick-25e fixed wing UAV to obtain the valued linear longitudinal and lateral models. At the end the model is checked by matching between the behavior of the states of the nonlinear UAV and the resulted linear model with doublet at the control surfaces.

Keywords: Equations of motion, linearization, modeling, nonlinear model, UAV.

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Authors: B. Munro, D. Lim, A. Anvar

Abstract:

This paper describes a feasibility study that is included with the research, development and testing of a micro communications sonobuoy deployable by Maritime Fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (M-UAV) and rotor wing Quad Copters which are both currently being developed by the University of Adelaide. The micro communications sonobuoy is developed to act as a seamless communication relay between an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and an above water human operator some distance away. Development of such a device would eliminate the requirement of physical communication tethers attached to submersible vehicles for control and data retrieval.

Keywords: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, AUV, Maritime, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV, Micro Sonobuoy, Communication.

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Authors: Mansoor Ahsan, Suhail Akhtar, Adnan Ali, Farrukh Mazhar, Muddssar Khalid

Abstract:

In the present era of aviation technology, autonomous navigation and control have emerged as a prime area of active research. Owing to the tremendous developments in the field, autonomous controls have led today’s engineers to claim that future of aerospace vehicle is unmanned. Development of guidance and navigation algorithms for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an extremely challenging task, which requires efforts to meet strict, and at times, conflicting goals of guidance and control. In this paper, aircraft altitude and heading controllers and an efficient algorithm for self-governing navigation using MATLAB® mapping toolbox is presented which also enables loitering of a fixed wing UAV over a specified area. For this purpose, a nonlinear mathematical model of a UAV is used. The nonlinear model is linearized around a stable trim point and decoupled for controller design. The linear controllers are tested on the nonlinear aircraft model and navigation algorithm is subsequently developed for for autonomous flight of the UAV. The results are presented for trajectory controllers and waypoint based navigation. Our investigation reveals that MATLAB® mapping toolbox can be exploited to successfully deliver an efficient algorithm for autonomous aerial navigation for a UAV.

Keywords: Navigation, trajectory-control, unmanned aerial vehicle, PID-control, MATLAB® mapping toolbox.

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Authors: Ashagrie Getnet Flattie

Abstract:

Line-of-sight (LOS) information, data rates, good quality, and flexible network service are limited by the fact that, for the duration of any given connection, they experience severe variation in signal strength due to fading and path loss. Wireless system faces major challenges in achieving wide coverage and capacity without affecting the system performance and to access data everywhere, all the time. In this paper, the cell coverage and edge rate of different Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) schemes in 20 MHz Long Term Evolution (LTE) system under Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) platform are investigated. After some background on the enormous potential of UAV, MIMO, and LTE in wireless links, the paper highlights the presented system model which attempts to realize the various benefits of MIMO being incorporated into UAV platform. The performances of the three MIMO LTE schemes are compared with the performance of 4x4 MIMO LTE in UAV scheme carried out to evaluate the improvement in cell radius, BER, and data throughput of the system in different morphology. The results show that significant performance gains such as bit error rate (BER), data rate, and coverage can be achieved by using the presented scenario.

Keywords: BER, LTE, MIMO, path loss, UAV.

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Authors: Nigel Q. Kelly, Zaid Siddiqi, Jin W. Lee

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It is known that using Coanda aerosurfaces can drastically augment the lift forces when applied to an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform. However, Coanda saucer UAVs, which commonly use a dish-like, radially-extending structure, have shown no significant increases in thrust/lift force and therefore have never been commercially successful: the additional thrust/lift generated by the Coanda surface diminishes since the airstreams emerging from the rotor compartment expand radially causing serious loss of momentums and therefore a net loss of total thrust/lift. To overcome this technical weakness, we propose to examine a Coanda surface of straight, cylindrical design and optimize its geometry for highest thrust/lift utilizing computational fluid dynamics software ANSYS Fluent®. The results of this study reveal that a Coanda UAV configured with 4 sides of straight, cylindrical Coanda surface achieve an overall 45% increase in lift compared to conventional Coanda Saucer UAV configurations. This venture integrates with an ongoing research project where a Coanda prototype is being assembled. Additionally, a custom thrust-stand has been constructed for thrust/lift measurement.

Keywords: CFD, Coanda, Lift, UAV.

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Authors: Anirudh Sunil Warrier, Saba Al-Rubaye, Dimitrios Panagiotakopoulos, Gokhan Inalhan, Antonios Tsourdos

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The demand for increased data transfer rate and network traffic capacity has given rise to the concept of heterogeneous networks. Heterogeneous networks are wireless networks, consisting of devices using different underlying radio access technologies (RAT). For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) this enhanced data rate and network capacity are even more critical especially in their applications of medicine, delivery missions and military. In an urban heterogeneous network environment, the UAVs must be able switch seamlessly from one base station (BS) to another for maintaining a reliable link. Therefore, seamless handover in such urban environments has become a major challenge. In this paper, a scheme to achieve seamless handover is developed, an algorithm based on Received Signal Strength (RSS) criterion for network selection is used and Entropy Weighted Method (EWM) is implemented for decision making. Seamless handover using EWM decision-making is demonstrated successfully for a UAV moving across fifth generation (5G) and long-term evolution (LTE) networks via a simulation level analysis. Thus, a solution for UAV-5G communication, specifically the mobility challenge in heterogeneous networks is solved and this work could act as step forward in making UAV-5G architecture integration a possibility.

Keywords: Air to ground, A2G, fifth generation, 5G, handover, mobility, unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, urban environments.

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Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

The selection of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) involves complex decision-making due to the evaluation of numerous alternatives and criteria simultaneously. This process necessitates the consideration of various factors such as payload capacity, maximum speed, endurance, altitude, avionics systems, price, economic life, and maximum range. This study aims to determine the most suitable UAV by taking these criteria into account. To achieve this, the standard fuzzy set methodology is employed, enabling decision-makers to define linguistic terms as references. A practical numerical example is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. Through a successful application, a comparison of different UAVs is conducted, culminating in the selection of the most appropriate vehicle during the final stage.

Keywords: Standard fuzzy sets (SFSs), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) selection, multiple criteria decision making, MCDM

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Authors: Gopi Kandaswamy, P. Balamuralidhar

Abstract:

Fully autonomous small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used in many commercial applications. Although a lot of research has been done to develop safe, reliable and durable UAVs, accidents due to electronic and structural failures are not uncommon and pose a huge safety risk to the UAV operators and the public. Hence there is a strong need for an automated health monitoring system for UAVs with a view to minimizing mission failures thereby increasing safety. This paper describes our approach to monitoring the electronic and structural components in a small UAV without the need for additional sensors to do the monitoring. Our system monitors data from four sources; sensors, navigation algorithms, control inputs from the operator and flight controller outputs. It then does statistical analysis on the data and applies a rule based engine to detect failures. This information can then be fed back into the UAV and a decision to continue or abort the mission can be taken automatically by the UAV and independent of the operator. Our system has been verified using data obtained from real flights over the past year from UAVs of various sizes that have been designed and deployed by us for various applications.

Keywords: Fault detection, health monitoring, unmanned aerial vehicles, vibration analysis.

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Authors: Sandro Bartolini, Alessandro Mecocci, Alessio Medaglini

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The growing popularity of systems based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is highlighting their vulnerability particularly in relation to the positioning system used. Typically, UAV architectures use the civilian GPS which is exposed to a number of different attacks, such as jamming or spoofing. This is why it is important to develop alternative methodologies to accurately estimate the actual UAV position without relying on GPS measurements only. In this paper we propose a position estimate method for UAVs based on monocular visual odometry. We have developed a flight control system capable of keeping track of the entire trajectory travelled, with a reduced dependency on the availability of GPS signal. Moreover, the simplicity of the developed solution makes it applicable to a wide range of commercial drones. The final goal is to allow for safer flights in all conditions, even under cyber-attacks trying to deceive the drone.

Keywords: Visual odometry, autonomous UAV, position measurement, autonomous outdoor flight.

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Authors: Kevin Anderson, Sukhwinder Singh Sandhu, Nouh Anies, Shilpa Ravichandra, Steven Dobbs, Donald Edberg

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This paper presents the results of a Finite Element based vibration analysis of a solar powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The purpose of this paper was to quantify the free vibration, forced vibration response due to differing point inputs in order to predict the relative response magnitudes and frequencies at various wing locations of vibration induced power generators (magnet in coil) excited by gust and/or control surface pulse-decays used to help power the flight of the electric UAV. A Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) study was performed in order to ascertain pertinent design stresses and deflections as well as aerodynamic parameters of the UAV airfoil. The 10 ft span airfoil is modeled using Mylar as the primary material. Results show that the free mode in bending is 4.8 Hz while the first forced bending mode is on range of 16.2 to 16.7 Hz depending on the location of excitation. The free torsional bending mode is 28.3 Hz, and the first forced torsional mode is range of 26.4 to 27.8 Hz, depending on the location of excitation. The FSI results predict the coefficients of aerodynamic drag and lift of 0.0052 and 0.077, respectively, which matches hand-calculations used to validate the Finite Element based results. FSI based maximum von Mises stresses and deflections were found to be 0.282 MPa and 3.4 mm, respectively. Dynamic pressures on the airfoil range from 1.04 to 1.23 kPa corresponding to velocity magnitudes in range of 22 to 66 m/s.

Keywords: ANSYS, finite element, FSI, UAV, vibrations.

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Authors: Asadullah I. Qazi, Mansoor Ahsan, Zahir Ashraf, Uzair Ahmad

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System identification of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), to acquire its mathematical model, is a significant step in the process of aircraft flight automation. The need for reliable mathematical model is an established requirement for autopilot design, flight simulator development, aircraft performance appraisal, analysis of aircraft modifications, preflight testing of prototype aircraft and investigation of fatigue life and stress distribution etc.  This research is aimed at system identification of a fixed wing UAV by means of specifically designed flight experiment. The purposely designed flight maneuvers were performed on the UAV and aircraft states were recorded during these flights. Acquired data were preprocessed for noise filtering and bias removal followed by parameter estimation of longitudinal dynamics transfer functions using MATLAB system identification toolbox. Black box identification based transfer function models, in response to elevator and throttle inputs, were estimated using least square error   technique. The identification results show a high confidence level and goodness of fit between the estimated model and actual aircraft response.

Keywords: Black box modeling, fixed wing aircraft, least square error, longitudinal dynamics, system identification.

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