Localization and perching maneuver tracking for a morphing UAV

Abstract

Autonomous vehicle control requires knowledge of the vehicle's states that often can only be estimated using sensor measurements. Several sensor types are typically used for the estimation process and each type often has its own sensing characteristics.This paper considers a novel morphing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is capable of changing its configuration in-flight and using aerodynamic forces to perform a perching maneuver. This maneuver could allow the UAV to perform planted landings and enable the vehicle to land in new locations, such as on building rooftops. However, this task requires the system controller to have accurate knowledge of vehicle states, especially with respect to the landing location. Visual sensors are required for identification of the landing site and to provide the relative positioning information that is critical for autonomous landings when uncertainty exists in the landing coordinates. Such information is unavailable from either a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or inertial measurements to sufficient accuracy. The key objective of this research is to develop a foundation for the control of an aircraft that is highly nonlinear. This paper investigates the use of a set of linear motion models to represent the full range of nonlinear dynamics for an aircraft performing a perching maneuver. Simulation data are presented and their results discussed.

Touchdown to take-off: at the interface of flight and surface locomotion

“…Pitch-up manoeuvres remain a challenge in part because current analytical aerodynamic techniques cannot predict the force fluctuations during these manoeuvres reliably [149,150]. Furthermore, standard solid wings offer less manoeuvrability than morphing wings, like those of animals [151][152][153][154][155]. As a result, many demonstrations of pitch-up manoeuvres with physical prototypes, both with fixed wings and quadrotors, have relied on motion capture systems for absolute situational awareness.…”

A Sarrus-Based Passive Mechanism for Rotorcraft Perching

“…Moore and Tedrake [5,6] developed a technique for perching at an incline on power lines using landing gear and magnetic localization. Hurst et al [7], Hurst and Garcia [8], Gomez and Garcia [9], and Robertson and Reich [10] developed control schemes for morphing aircraft, which use bird-inspired wings and tails to perch on flat, horizontal surfaces.…”

“…(5) Set the rigid toe angle W based on the b value and the h value for the smallest perch, using Eqs. (6) and (7). (6) Choose the link length L to be as large as possible, given payload constraints.…”

L-Shaped-Sensor-Array-Based Localization and Tracking Method for 3D Maneuvering Target

“…However, multimedia sensor needs an extremely high image resolution, a fast network flow rate, and distinguished feature which limits its extensive use. RFID [5], wireless sensor networks [6], hybrid sensor networks [7] are generally used for the short-range target localization because their wireless transmission is easily influenced by the circumstance and the distance.…”