Keywords

landing zone determination, autonomous multirotor aircraft, UAS, unmanned aircraft

Abstract

This paper presents an approach for finding possible landing sites for a rotorcraft from an inertially referenced point-cloud model of the environment. To identify potential landing sites that are suitably flat and level, a grid-based random sample consensus algorithm separates the terrain map into discrete areas for plane-fitting analysis. Landing sites are selected that satisfy constraints on flatness and levelness while optimizing the surveillance target’s visibility. Flight test results are presented from a small multirotor aircraft flying over a scale-model cityscape. Results from real-time landing-site experiments are presented and discussed.

Original Publication Citation

Mackay, J., Ellingson, G., and McLain, T. Landing Zone Determination for Autonomous Rotorcraft in Surveillance Applications, Proceedings of the AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, AIAA 2016-1137, January 2016, San Diego, California.

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2016-1

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/3846

Publisher

AIAA

Language

English

College

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

Department

Mechanical Engineering

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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