Comparison of Multirotor Wind Estimation Techniques Through Conventional On-board Sensors

McConville, Alexander; Richardson, Thomas S.; Moradi, Peiman

doi:10.2514/6.2022-0411

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…These restrictions complicate solar energy resources management and integration of solar energy into the grid. Conventional wind sensors, such as cup anemometers or wind vanes, may have limitations in capturing subtle changes in wind speed and direction, particularly in complex wind flow conditions or at high altitudes [45,46]. As a result, inaccurate wind energy predictions lead to suboptimal utilization of wind power resources.…”

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confidence: 99%

Sensors in Civil Engineering: From Existing Gaps to Quantum Opportunities

Kantsepolsky,

Aviv

2024

Smart Cities

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The vital role of civil engineering is to enable the development of modern cities and establish foundations for smart and sustainable urban environments of the future. Advanced sensing technologies are among the instrumental methods used to enhance the performance of civil engineering infrastructures and address the multifaceted challenges of future cities. Through this study, we discussed the shortcomings of traditional sensors in four primary civil engineering domains: construction, energy, water, and transportation. Then, we investigated and summarized the potential of quantum sensors to contribute to and revolutionize the management of civil engineering infrastructures. For the water sector, advancements are expected in monitoring water quality and pressure in water and sewage infrastructures. In the energy sector, quantum sensors may facilitate renewables integration and improve grid stability and buildings’ energy efficiency. The most promising progress in the construction field is the ability to identify subsurface density and underground structures. In transportation, these sensors create many fresh avenues for real-time traffic management and smart mobility solutions. As one of the first-in-the-field studies offering the adoption of quantum sensors across four primary domains of civil engineering, this research establishes the basis for the discourse about the scope and timeline for deploying quantum sensors to real-world applications towards the quantum transformation of civil engineering.

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confidence: 99%

Sensors in Civil Engineering: From Existing Gaps to Quantum Opportunities

Kantsepolsky,

Aviv

2024

Smart Cities

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“…To mitigate the Extended Kalman Filter 2 (EKF2) estimation error due to fixed‐wing UAV maneuvers and obtain preflight wind estimates, the use of other atmospheric monitoring devices was determined to be advantageous; a multirotor UAV and weather balloon‐mounted radiosonde were selected for this comparison. An in‐depth analysis of multirotor UAV‐based local wind speed estimates by McConville et al (2022) of the UoB Flight Lab indicates that although further development is necessary, multirotor UAVs could be utilized to produce local 3D atmospheric wind models greatly increasing the accuracy of the MSOAM. Initial comparisons of the multirotor, radiosonde, and fixed‐wing UAV EKF2 wind speed estimates recorded during the January 2022 campaign have determined it is reasonable to assume either method would be suitable for initial preflight wind estimates within the MSOAM at this stage.…”

Section: Flight Data Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generalizing minimum safe operating altitudes for fixed‐wing UAVs in real‐time

Milne,

McConville,

Richardson

et al. 2024

Journal of Field Robotics

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This paper discusses a method of determining the minimum safe altitude of an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) at any point within a designated airspace by conducting a glide reachability analysis. Recently, fixed‐wing UAVs are more regularly deployed near population centers and in extreme environments, requiring increasingly robust emergency systems and planning. The long‐ranges and adverse terrain associated with monitoring the Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala by a team from the University of Bristol (UoB) increases the likelihood that motor failure would result in the aircraft being unable to Return To Home (RTH) and impossible to retrieve. A method for delineating a boundary representing the minimum safe altitude required for the aircraft to safely glide to the airfield in the event of a motor failure was developed within MATLAB, defined by the UAV's minimum glide angle in wind. This model was subsequently compared with flight data from UoB missions around Fuego to better improve its accuracy and analyze the limitations of the missions.

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“…The modeling approach used to estimate wind speed is described in detail in the study by McConville et al (2022), where the vehicle is flown through a series of simple maneuvers to develop the wind estimation model under hover conditions. This model is then developed upon in this work to account for the motion of the vehicle while climbing and variation in atmospheric density.…”

Section: Wind Estimation Using Multirotor Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-altitude vertical wind profile estimation using multirotor vehicles

McConville

Richardson

2023

Front. Robot. AI

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Capturing vertical profiles of the atmosphere and measuring wind conditions can be of significant value for weather forecasting and pollution monitoring however, collecting such data can be limited by current approaches using balloon-based radiosondes and expensive ground-based sensors. Multirotor vehicles can be significantly affected by the local wind conditions, and due to their under-actuated nature, the response to the flow is visible in the changes in the orientation. From these changes in orientation, wind speed and direction estimates can be determined, allowing accurate estimation with no additional sensors. In this work, we expand on and improve this method of wind speed and direction estimation and incorporate corrections for climbing flight to improve estimation during vertical profiling. These corrections were validated against sonic anemometer data before being used to gather vertical profiles of the wind conditions around Volcan De Fuego in Guatemala up to altitudes of 3000 m Above Ground Level (AGL). From the results of this work, we show we can improve the accuracy of multirotor wind estimation in vertical profiling through our improved model and some of the practical limitations of radiosondes that can be overcome through the use of UAS in this application.

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Comparison of Multirotor Wind Estimation Techniques Through Conventional On-board Sensors

Cited by 6 publications

References 15 publications

Sensors in Civil Engineering: From Existing Gaps to Quantum Opportunities

Sensors in Civil Engineering: From Existing Gaps to Quantum Opportunities

Generalizing minimum safe operating altitudes for fixed‐wing UAVs in real‐time

High-altitude vertical wind profile estimation using multirotor vehicles

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