Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Maximizing Miniature Aerial Vehicles, Stephen Griffiths, Jeffery Brian Saunders, Andrew Curtis, Blake Barber, Timothy W. Mclain, Randal W. Beard

Faculty Publications

Despite the tremendous potential demonstrated by miniature aerial vehicles (MAV) in numerous applications, they are currently limited to operations in open air space, far away from obstacles and terrain. To broaden the range of applications for MAVs, methods to enable operation in environments of increased complexity must be developed. In this article, we presented two strategies for obstacle and terrain avoidance that provide a means for avoiding obstacles in the flight path and for staying centered in a winding corridor.