Keywords
autonomous landing, UAV, unmanned aircraft
Abstract
This paper outlines an approach for automated landing of miniature aerial vehicles (MAVs). A landing algorithm defining the landing flight path as a function of height above ground, and the control strategies for following the path, are described. Two methods are presented for estimating height above ground, one based on barometric pressure measurements and the other utilizing optic-flow measurements. The development of an optic-flow sensor and associated sampling strategies are described. Utilizing estimates of height above ground from barometric pressure and optic-flow measurements, repeated landings were performed with a 1.5 m wingspan MAV. With height above ground estimated from barometric pressure measurements alone, landing errors averaged 7.6 m. When optic flow and barometric pressure measurements were combined to estimate height above ground, the average landing error was only 4.3 m.
Original Publication Citation
D. Blake Barber, Stephen R. Griffiths, Timothy W. McLain, and Randal W. Beard. "Autonomous Landing of Miniature Aerial Vehicles", Journal of Aerospace Computing, Information, and Communication, Vol. 4, No. 5 (2007), pp. 770-784. doi: 10.2514/1.26502
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Barber, D. Blake; Griffiths, Stephen R.; McLain, Timothy W.; and Beard, Randal W., "Autonomous Landing of Miniature Aerial Vehicles" (2007). Faculty Publications. 1498.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/1498
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2007-5
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/3439
Publisher
AIAA
Language
English
College
Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Copyright Status
Barber, D., Griffiths, S., McLain, T., and Beard, R. Autonomous Landing of Miniature Aerial Vehicles, AIAA Journal of Aerospace Computing, Information, and Communication, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 770-784, May 2007. Invited submission. DOI: 10.2514/1.26502
Copyright Use Information
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/