Lightweight infrared sensing for relative navigation of quadrotors

Abstract

Abstract-A lightweight solution for estimating position and velocity relative to a known marker is presented. The marker consists of three infrared (IR) LEDs in a fixed pattern. Using an IR camera with a 100 Hz update rate, the range and bearing to the marker are calculated. This information is then fused with inertial sensor information to produce state estimates at 1 kHz using a sigma point Kalman filter. The computation takes place on a 14 gram custom autopilot, yielding a lightweight system for generating high-rate relative state information. The estimation scheme is compared to data recorded with a motion capture system.

Close-quarters Quadrotor flying for a pole inspection with position based visual servoing and high-speed vision

“…Recent results have demonstrated the advantages of using these fast sample rate sensors. Curler et al [11] presented preliminary results toward multiple flying vehicles that utilize structured infrared LEDs and a 100 Hz infrared camera for state estimation and control. This infrared camera is able to return the sizes and pixel centroid locations of point features.…”

On-board vision-based 3D relative localization system for multiple quadrotors

“…However, the initial ID extraction phase takes some time, which increases as the time used between marker pulses increases to allow for possible additional IDs. In this work, the localization markers emit blue light, but different lighting properties can be chosen, as for example infra-red (IR) used in [6], [8], or the Active Led Markers (ALM) on [14] in a DVS system. To increase the marker detection reliability in brighter scenarios, blue paint was added to take advantage of the reflections of incoming light on the markers.…”

“…Such method has lead to high precision measurements, for large distance ranges, as reported in [9], [10]. As in [8], inertial measurements are also fused with the relative sensing data to obtain improved estimation and control performance. However, previous works consist on single platform observations.…”

Outdoor Target Positioning Using Wii Remote IR Camera and Signal Modulation

“…Aside from the Wii console's market success, the Wii remote is widely used due to its capability for many applications including (a) finger tracking; (b) head tracking for VR (virtual reality) displays; (d), (e) an interactive whiteboard in [1]. Other applications include (c) an IR-optical tracking system [2]; (f) an IR gun [3]; (g), (m) rehabilitation devices [4,5]; (h) a quadcopter application [6]; (i) small UAV tracking [7]; (j) cave-like environment VR [8]; (k) automated assembly [9]; (l) human-robot interaction [10]; (n) head display for VR [11]; and (o) indoor head tracking [12] (see Figure 2). Despite its broad applicability, all previous Wiimote applications are quite limited to indoor uses and no existing literature is found for outdoor applications owing to the obvious reason-sunlight that contains a wide range of spectrum including IR lights.…”