Future unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) will be shared by multiple users and will have to operate in conditions where their fully-autonomous function is required. Calculation of a drones trajectory will be important but optimal trajectories cannot be calculated unless mass and flight speed are taken into account. This article presents the case for on-drone trajectory planning in a multi-user dynamic payload mass scenario, allowing a drone to calculate its trajectory with no need for ground control communication. We formulate and investigate on-drone trajectory planning under variable payload mass and flight speed awareness, in cases where it is shared by multiple users or applications. We present efficient solutions using a combination of heuristic and optimization algorithms. To support this investigation, we present a new model for the power dissipation of drone propulsion as a function of speed and payload mass. We evaluate our proposed algorithmic solution on contemporary embedded processors and demonstrate its capability to generate near-optimal trajectories with limited computational overhead (less than 300 milliseconds on an ARM Cortex-A9 SoC).
Hook-Based Aerial Payload Grasping from a Moving Platform
Systems and Control Lab, HUN-REN Institute for Computer Science and Control（系统与控制实验室，HUN-REN计算机科学与控制研究所）；National Laboratory for Autonomous Systems（自主系统国家实验室）；Control Systems Group of the Eindhoven University of Technology（埃因霍温理工大学控制系统组）
In this paper, a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) structure, referred to as swash mass UAV, is presented. It consists of a double blade coaxial shaft rotor and four swash masses that allow changing the orientation and maneuvering the UAV. The dynamical system model is derived from the Newton\textquotesingle s law framework. The rotational behavior of the UAV is discussed as a function of the design parameters. Given the uniqueness and the form of the obtained non-linear dynamical system model, a back-stepping control mechanism is proposed. It is obtained following the Lyapunov's control appro…
The University of Manchester（曼彻斯特大学）；Cardiff University（卡迪夫大学）
In recent years, Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) have been extensively deployed for maritime applications. However, USV has a limited detection range with sensor installed at the same elevation with the targets. In this research, we propose a cooperative Unmanned Aerial Vehicle - Unmanned Surface Vehicle (UAV-USV) platform to improve the detection range of USV. A floatable and waterproof UAV is designed and 3D printed, which allows it to land on the sea. A catamaran USV and landing platform are also developed. To land UAV on the USV precisely in various lighting conditions, IR beacon detector …
A system of cooperative unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is a group of agents interacting with each other and the surrounding environment to achieve a specific task. In contrast with a single UAV, UAV swarms are expected to benefit efficiency, flexibility, accuracy, robustness, and reliability. However, the provision of external communications potentially exposes them to an additional layer of faults, failures, uncertainties, and cyber-attacks and can contribute to the propagation of error from one component to other components in a network. Also, other challenges such as complex nonlinear dyna…
A control system verification framework is presented for unmanned aerial vehicles using theorem proving. The framework's aim is to set out a procedure for proving that the mathematically designed control system of the aircraft satisfies robustness requirements to ensure safe performance under varying environmental conditions. Extensive mathematical derivations, which have formerly been carried out manually, are checked for their correctness on a computer. To illustrate the proceedures, a higher-order logic interactive theorem-prover and an automated theorem-prover are utilized to formally veri…
This paper presents a new Lyapunov-based nonlinear model predictive controller (LNMPC) for the attitude control problem of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which is essential for their functioning operation. The controller is designed based on a quadratic cost function integrating UAV dynamics and system constraints. An additional contraction constraint is then introduced to ensure closed-loop system stability. That constraint is fulfilled via a Lyapunov function derived from a sliding mode controller (SMC). The feasibility and stability of the LNMPC are finally proved. Simulation and comparis…
This paper proposes a novel parametric identification approach for linear systems using Deep Learning (DL) and the Modified Relay Feedback Test (MRFT). The proposed methodology utilizes MRFT to reveal distinguishing frequencies about an unknown process; which are then passed to a trained DL model to identify the underlying process parameters. The presented approach guarantees stability and performance in the identification and control phases respectively, and requires few seconds of observation data to infer the dynamic system parameters. Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attitude and al…
Payload trajectory tracking control for aerial transportation systems with cable length online optimization
Institute of Robotics and Automatic Information System, College of Artificial Intelligence（机器人与自动化信息系统研究所，人工智能学院）；Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robotics, Nankai University（天津智能机器人重点实验室，南开大学）；Institute of Intelligence Technology and Robotic Systems（智能技术与机器人系统研究所）；Shenzhen Research Institute of Nankai University（南开大学深圳研究院）
Australian National University（澳大利亚国立大学）；Defence Science and Technology Group（国防科学与技术集团）
Accurate localisation of unmanned aerial vehicles is vital for the next generation of automation tasks. This paper proposes a minimum energy filter for velocity-aided pose estimation on the extended special Euclidean group. The approach taken exploits the Lie-group symmetry of the problem to combine Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor output with landmark measurements into a robust and high performance state estimate. We propose an asynchronous discrete-time implementation to fuse high bandwidth IMU with low bandwidth discrete-time landmark measurements typical of real-world scenarios. The …
A Cooperative Aerial System of A Payload Drone Equipped with Dexterous Rappelling End Droid for Cluttered Space Pickup
School of Aerospace Science and Engineering, Beihang University（北京航空航天大学航空航天科学与工程学院）；Hangzhou International Innovation Institute of Beihang University（北京航空航天大学杭州国际创新研究院）；Institute of Unmanned System, Beihang University（北京航空航天大学无人系统研究院）；Tianmushan Laboratory（天门山实验室）
This paper presents a data-driven optimal control policy for a micro flapping wing unmanned aerial vehicle. First, a set of optimal trajectories are computed off-line based on a geometric formulation of dynamics that captures the nonlinear coupling between the large angle flapping motion and the quasi-steady aerodynamics. Then, it is transformed into a feedback control system according to the framework of imitation learning. In particular, an additional constraint is incorporated through the learning process to enhance the stability properties of the resulting controlled dynamics. Compared wit…
École Centrale de Nantes (ECN)（南特中央理工学院）；Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes (LS2N)（南特数字科学实验室）；Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)（法国国家科学研究中心）
Aerial Cable Towed Systems (ACTS) are composed of several Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) connected to a payload by cables. Compared to towing objects from individual aerial vehicles, an ACTS has significant advantages such as heavier payload capacity, modularity, and full control of the payload pose. They are however generally large with limited ability to meet geometric constraints while avoiding collisions between UAVs. This paper presents the modelling, performance analysis, design, and a proposed controller for a novel ACTS with variable cable lengths, named Variable Aerial Cable Towed Sy…
In this work, we study vulnerability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to stealthy attacks on perception-based control. To guide our analysis, we consider two specific missions: ($i$) ground vehicle tracking (GVT), and ($ii$) vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) of a quadcopter on a moving ground vehicle. Specifically, we introduce a method to consistently attack both the sensors measurements and camera images over time, in order to cause control performance degradation (e.g., by failing the mission) while remaining stealthy (i.e., undetected by the deployed anomaly detector). Unlike existing…
Proper path planning is the first step of robust and efficient autonomous navigation for mobile robots. Meanwhile, it is still challenging for robots to work in a complex environment without complete prior information. This paper presents an extension to the A* search algorithm and its variants to make the path planning stable with less computational burden while handling long-distance tasks. The implemented algorithm is capable of online searching for a collision-free and smooth path when heading to the defined goal position. This paper deploys the algorithm on the autonomous drone platform a…
This article introduces a new mobile-based application of modern information and communication technology in agriculture based on Internet of Things (IoT), embedded systems and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The proposed agricultural monitoring system was designed and implemented using Arduino microcontroller boards, Wi-Fi modules, water pumps and electronic environmental sensors, namely temperature, humidity and soil moisture. The role of UAV in this study is to collect these environmental data from different regions of the farm. Then, the quantity of water irrigation is automatically comp…
The Internet of Things (IoT) will soon be omnipresent and billions of sensors and actuators will support our industries and well-being. IoT devices are embedded systems that are connected using wireless technology for most of the cases. The availability of the wireless network serving the IoT, the privacy, integrity, and trustworthiness of the data are of critical importance, since IoT will drive businesses and personal decisions. This paper proposes a new approach in the wireless security domain that leverages advanced wireless technology and the emergence of the unmanned aerial system or veh…
An innovative method of detecting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is presented. The goal of this study is to develop a robust setup for an autonomous multi-rotor hunter UAV, capable of visually detecting and tracking the intruder UAVs for real-time motion planning. The system consists of two parts: object detection using a stereo camera to generate 3D point cloud data and video tracking applying a Kalman filter for UAV motion modeling. After detection, the hunter can aim and shoot a tethered net at the intruder to neutralize it. The computer vision, motion tracking, and planning algorithms can…
The possible applications and benefits of autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) use in urban areas are gaining considerable attention. Before these possibilities can be realized, it is essential that UAVs be able to navigate reliably and precisely in urban environments. The most common means of determining the location of a UAV is to utilize position measurements from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). In urban environments, however, GNSS measurements are significantly degraded due to occlusions and multipath. This research analyzes the use of camera Line-of-Sight (LOS) measurement…
Increased growth in the global Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) (drone) industry has expanded possibilities for fully autonomous UAV applications. A particular application which has in part motivated this research is the use of UAV in wide area search and surveillance operations in unstructured outdoor environments. The critical issue with such environments is the lack of structured features that could aid in autonomous flight, such as road lines or paths. In this paper, we propose an End-to-End Multi-Task Regression-based Learning approach capable of defining flight commands for navigation and …
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications（北京邮电大学）；Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院数学与系统科学研究院）
This paper investigates the localization problem of high-speed high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a monocular camera and inertial navigation system. It proposes a navigation method utilizing the complementarity of vision and inertial devices to overcome the singularity which arises from the horizontal flight of UAV. Furthermore, it modifies the mathematical model of localization problem via separating linear parts from nonlinear parts and replaces a nonlinear least-squares problem with a linearly equality-constrained optimization problem. In order to avoid the ill-condition prope…
