{"title":"Observer-control scheme for autonomous navigation: Flight tests validation in a quadrotor vehicle","authors":"L. E. Munoz, P. Castillo, P. Garcia","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564762","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564762","url":null,"abstract":"We present in this paper an improvement of a nonlinear control algorithm based on the Lyapunov analysis and the saturation functions, to realize autonomous navigation of a quadrotor vehicle. The algorithm is analyzed and the convergence of the states is ameliorated, in addition, the stability analysis in closed-loop system is proved with these new conditions. In order to locate the aerial vehicle a new position estimation algorithm is developed using the dead-reckoning technique with the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). This algorithm is based in the data fusion of the classical sensors; an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an ultrasonic sensor and a vision system. The algorithms are validated onboard in flight tests to realize autonomous navigation of the quadrotor vehicle. The most important results are depicted in some graphs.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"72 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128279724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Flyable path planning for a multi-UAV system with Genetic Algorithms and Bezier curves","authors":"O. K. Sahingoz","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564672","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564672","url":null,"abstract":"Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are used in numerous military and civil application areas, and they have gained prominence in the research community. A UAV has to operate in a complex environment and checks the control points in the mission area by satisfying different constraints of the assigned task. Therefore, the path planning problem is one of the important areas in UAV researches. If the number of control points increases in the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), finding a feasible solution in this large search space takes up a great deal of time. Nowadays low-cost UAVs are available, and this enables the use of multi-UAV systems to perform different tasks more efficiently and quickly. This usage increases the complexity of effective path planning and task allocation problem. This paper presents a flyable path planning for multi-UAV systems by using a Genetic Algorithm (GA) in a known environment at a constant altitude. A feasible path is firstly calculated by GAs, and then this path is smoothed by using Bezier curves. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach produces effective and feasible paths for each UAV in a multi-UAV system. System is implemented in Java with a GUI for presenting results. The paper also draws future works that can be done on this topic.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"53 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125910021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xilin Yang, M. Warren, B. Arain, B. Upcroft, Felipe Gonzalez, L. Mejias
{"title":"A UKF-based estimation strategy for actuator fault detection of UASs","authors":"Xilin Yang, M. Warren, B. Arain, B. Upcroft, Felipe Gonzalez, L. Mejias","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564728","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564728","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a recursive strategy for online detection of actuator faults on a unmanned aerial system (UAS) subjected to accidental actuator faults. The proposed detection algorithm aims to provide a UAS with the capability of identifying and determining characteristics of actuator faults, offering necessary flight information for the design of fault-tolerant mechanism to compensate for the resultant side-effect when faults occur. The proposed fault detection strategy consists of a bank of unscented Kalman filters (UKFs) with each one detecting a specific type of actuator faults and estimating corresponding velocity and attitude information. Performance of the proposed method is evaluated using a typical nonlinear UAS model and it is demonstrated in simulations that our method is able to detect representative faults with a sufficient accuracy and acceptable time delay, and can be applied to the design of fault-tolerant flight control systems of UASs.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122207254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A nonlinear path-following strategy for a fixed-wing MAV","authors":"G. Flores, I. Lugo-Cárdenas, R. Lozano","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564789","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564789","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, a Lyapunov-based control law is developed to steer a fixed-wing mini aerial vehicle (MAV) along a desired path. The proposed controller overcomes stringent initial condition constraints that are present in several path following strategies in the literature. The key idea behind the proposed strategy, is to minimize the error of the path-following trajectory by using a virtual particle, which should be tracked along the path. For this purpose, the particle speed is controlled, providing an extra degree of freedom. Controller design is stated by using Lyapunov techniques. The resulting control strategy yields global convergence of the current path of the MAV to the desired path. Simulations are presented using the simulator MAV3DSim, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control law. Furthermore an experimental platform called MINAVE I is introduced.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124081761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Automatic system for overhead power line inspection using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle — RELIFO project","authors":"J. I. Larrauri, Gorka Sorrosal, Mikel González","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564696","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564696","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, a new automatic system in almost real time for overhead power line inspection by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is presented. This method is focused on the prevention and maintenance of aerial power lines. The main contribution and novelty is the design and development of a new fully automatic aerial inspection system, without requiring manual intervention on the ground station or control center, to detect possible anomalies. The main goal of the method is to process the consecutive images together with the telemetry data sent from the autopilot in order to identify online areas of vegetation, trees and buildings close to power lines and to calculate the distance between power lines and the vegetation, trees and buildings. Simultaneously, the system processes the images captured by the infrared camera in order to detect bad conductivity and hotspots in the power lines, transformers and electrical substations. The system response times does have a constant of one second for calculating distance measurement and down to 0.3 seconds for detecting hotspots. In addition, the system automatically generates reports offline in the ground station once the flight is finished. These reports require more execution time and more CPU resources. The results show 3D information obtained through processing of consecutive frames of the HD images together with the telemetry data sent by autopilot. This paper is structured as follows: the first section briefly introduces the current methods of inspection of power lines; the second section presents our proposed system “RELIFO”; the third section describes the algorithms designed and developed for this system; the fourth section presents and discusses the experimental results; the next section offers the conclusions drawn. Finally, we cite the references and publ","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125061291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multi-vehicle circular formation flight in an unknown time-varying flow-field","authors":"Mohammad H. Sadraey","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564770","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564770","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a coordination technique for circular formation flight of multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to circle around a ground target when a wind with an unknown velocity and direction is blowing. The guidance law is based on the line-of-sight (LOS) method which has the ability to transfer UAVs to different formation patterns through a single parameter change. An optimal control law is applied to a linear dynamic model employing a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control technique. A leader-follower coordination model is adopted for encirclement around the ground target. In order to verify the performance of the proposed system, a numerical simulation is demonstrated.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114384487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin Jahn, Alexander Barth, K. Wulff, Tobias Simon, Jan Romisch
{"title":"Rate control and flight stabilization for a quadrotor system","authors":"Benjamin Jahn, Alexander Barth, K. Wulff, Tobias Simon, Jan Romisch","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564744","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper we propose a stability augmentation system for a quadrotor, enabling direct rate control for a human pilot. Our system includes feedforward for rate control, feedback for disturbance attenuation, and an online optimization technique for handling input restrictions. We show that the proposed algorithms are able to stabilize the system under highly challenging flight conditions, such as wind gusts and fast manual descend. Our input restriction technique ensures that the revolution speeds for the desired torques are feasible. The complete control system is analyzed using MATLAB, and full experimental validation is provided based on a quadrotor prototype.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132950713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rethinking the regulatory framework for Small Unmanned Aircraft: The case for protecting privacy and property rights in the lowermost reaches of the atmosphere","authors":"P. Voss","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564687","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564687","url":null,"abstract":"Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) have the ability operate in chaotic and heterogeneous environments near the ground that are inaccessible to manned aircraft. This is significant because navigable airspace, which is in the public domain and preempted by federal laws, is defined by the minimum safe altitudes of flight. Since many sUAS arguably have no minimum safe altitude, they could potentially expand navigable airspace to the ground, posing a serious challenge to property rights, privacy expectations, and local control. This paper discusses the issue in historical context, raises new questions about the current direction for sUAS regulation, and suggests an alternative framework that would have benefits for governmental efficiency, the civilian UAS industry, and the public at large.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132027548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hyukseong Kwon, J. Yoder, Stanley S. Baek, Scott F. Gruber, D. Pack
{"title":"Maximizing target detection under sunlight reflection on water surfaces with an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle","authors":"Hyukseong Kwon, J. Yoder, Stanley S. Baek, Scott F. Gruber, D. Pack","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564669","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564669","url":null,"abstract":"Reflected sunlight can significantly impact vision-based object detection and tracking algorithms, especially ones based on an aerial platform operating over a marine environment. Unmanned aerial systems above a water surface may be unable to detect objects on the water surface due to sunlight glitter. Although the area affected by sunlight reflection may be limited, rapid course corrections of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-especially fixed-wing UAVs-is also limited by aerodynamics, making it challenging to determine a reasonable path that avoids sunlight reflection while maximizing chances to capture a target. In this paper, we propose an approach for autonomous UAV path planning that maximizes the accuracy of the estimated target location by minimizing the sunlight reflection influences.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"49 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132239492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G. Szafranski, R. Czyba, Wojciech Janusz, W. Błotnicki
{"title":"Altitude estimation for the UAV's applications based on sensors fusion algorithm","authors":"G. Szafranski, R. Czyba, Wojciech Janusz, W. Błotnicki","doi":"10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564727","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS.2013.6564727","url":null,"abstract":"Altitude measurement with a high reliability is a very difficult issue not because of the sensors complexity and requirements but due to the quality of the signals and fast changing environment conditions. In this paper we focus on the problem of the vertical movement measurements of the unmanned aerial vehicles and approach to the future control algorithms implementation. Two-sensors algorithm has been proposed on the basis of the data fusion from the pressure sensor and ultrasonic range finder.","PeriodicalId":322089,"journal":{"name":"2013 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133874424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}