RF-based automated UAV orientation and landing system
Castillo Mateos, Carlos Mariano (2019)
2019
Information Technology
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2019-05-27
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201905211711
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201905211711
Tiivistelmä
The number of Unmanned Areal Vehicle (UAV) applications is growing tremendously. The most critical applications are operations in use cases like natural disasters and rescue activities. Many of these operations are performed on water scenarios. A standalone niche covering autonomous UAV operation is thus becoming increasingly important. One of the crucial parts of mentioned operations is a technology capable to land an autonomous UAV on a moving platform on top of a water surface. This approach could not be entirely possible without precise UAV positioning. However, conventional strategies that rely on satellite positioning may not always be reliable, due to the existence of accuracy errors given by surrounding environmental conditions, high interferences, or other factors, that could lead to the loss of the UAV. Therefore, the development of independent precise landing technology is essential.
The main objective of this thesis is to develop precise landing framework by applying indoor positioning techniques based on RF-anchors to autonomous outdoor UAV operations for cases when a lower accuracy error than the provided by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is required.
In order to analyze the landing technology, a simulation tool was developed. The developed positioning strategy is based on modifications of Gauss-Newton's method, which utilizes as an input parameter the number of anchors, the spacing between them, the initial UAV position, and the Friis-transmission formula to calculate the distance between the anchors and the UAV. As an output, a calculated position of the UAV with an accuracy in the range of tens of centimeters is reached.
The simulation campaign shows the dependencies of the effects of the anchor's number and corresponding spacing on positioning accuracy. Also, the simulation campaign shows Gauss-Newton's method parameter value that maximizes the system performance. The results prove that this approach can be applied in a real-life scenario due to achievements of both high accuracy achieved and close to perfect estimated landing trajectory.
Keywords: UAV, Positioning, Automatic Landing, Simulation
The main objective of this thesis is to develop precise landing framework by applying indoor positioning techniques based on RF-anchors to autonomous outdoor UAV operations for cases when a lower accuracy error than the provided by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is required.
In order to analyze the landing technology, a simulation tool was developed. The developed positioning strategy is based on modifications of Gauss-Newton's method, which utilizes as an input parameter the number of anchors, the spacing between them, the initial UAV position, and the Friis-transmission formula to calculate the distance between the anchors and the UAV. As an output, a calculated position of the UAV with an accuracy in the range of tens of centimeters is reached.
The simulation campaign shows the dependencies of the effects of the anchor's number and corresponding spacing on positioning accuracy. Also, the simulation campaign shows Gauss-Newton's method parameter value that maximizes the system performance. The results prove that this approach can be applied in a real-life scenario due to achievements of both high accuracy achieved and close to perfect estimated landing trajectory.
Keywords: UAV, Positioning, Automatic Landing, Simulation