Engineering Commons^™

Evolutionary View Planning For Optimized Uav Terrain Modeling In A Simulated Environment, Ronald A. Martin, Ivan Rojas, Kevin W. Franke, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

This work demonstrates the use of genetic algorithms in optimized view planning for 3D reconstruction applications using small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The quality of UAV site models is currently highly dependent on manual pilot operations or grid-based automation solutions. When applied to 3D structures, these approaches can result in gaps in the total coverage or inconsistency in final model resolution. Genetic algorithms can effectively explore the search space to locate image positions that produce high quality models in terms of coverage and accuracy. A fitness function is defined, and optimization parameters are selected through semi-exhaustive search. A novel simulation …

Autonomous Satellite Recovery Vehicle (Asrv) Final Report, Devonte Grantham, Francisco Pastrana, Collin R. Topolski

Student Works

In collaboration with Embry-Riddle Future Space Explorers and Developers Society (ERFSEDS), we came up with the idea to build a quad-copter/sensor system that could be deployed from a rocket. The goal is to build a new chassis for the quad-copters electronic components that will allow the quad-copters arms to fold inwards to meet the required space constraints of a rocket. In addition to the critical components of the quad-copter, our design will integrate a number of other data collecting sub-systems currently being used in a weather balloon designed by Society 4 S.P.A.C.E. club members. After being jettisoned from the rocket, …

Autonomous Uavs For Near Earth Environmental Sensing, David J. Anthony

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are playing an increasing role in large scale environmental monitoring. Small UAVs are increasingly used to monitor agricultural fields, infrastructure projects, and disaster areas. The combination of their sensors, ease of use, and portability make them an ideal tool for collecting information on demand about geographic regions. These small UAVs do have several significant limitations. The UAVs have very limited autonomy and fly pre-determined flight paths far above the underlying terrain, limiting the spatial resolution of the collected data. Current battery technology severely limits their flight times, which in turn limits the temporal resolution of the …

Assessment Of Surface Soil Moisture Using High-Resolution Multi-Spectral Imagery And Artificial Neural Networks, Leila Hassan-Esfahani, Alfonso Torres-Rua, Austin Jensen, Mac Mckee

Leila Hassan-Esfahani

Many crop production management decisions can be informed using data from high-resolution aerial images that provide information about crop health as influenced by soil fertility and moisture. Surface soil moisture is a key component of soil water balance, which addresses water and energy exchanges at the surface/atmosphere interface; however, high-resolution remotely sensed data is rarely used to acquire soil moisture values. In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to quantify the effectiveness of using spectral images to estimate surface soil moisture. The model produces acceptable estimations of surface soil moisture (root mean square error (RMSE) = …

Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas) - What Are They?, Jose R. Ruiz Phd, Mike A. Burgener, Gary Shafer, Jim Peterson Phd, Wayne R. Glass, Steven Goetz

ASA Multidisciplinary Research Symposium

A panel of five aviation experts will discuss Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Particular emphasis will be placed on the rules governing UAS operation. A UAS operational demonstration will be conducted.

Data Fusion For Vision-Based Robotic Platform Navigation, Andrés F. Echeverri

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Data fusion has become an active research topic in recent years. Growing computational performance has allowed the use of redundant sensors to measure a single phenomenon. While Bayesian fusion approaches are common in general applications, the computer vision community has largely relegated this approach. Most object following algorithms have gone towards pure machine learning fusion techniques that tend to lack flexibility. Consequently, a more general data fusion scheme is needed. The motivation for this work is to propose methods that allow for the development of simple and cost effective, yet robust visual following robots capable of tracking a general object …

Seeing The Threat: Pilot Visual Detection Of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems In Visual Meteorological Conditions, Jon M. Loffi, Ryan J. Wallace, Jamey D. Jacob, Jared C. Dunlap

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

One key challenge of integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) platforms into the National Airspace System (NAS) is the potential for midair collisions between manned aircraft and the unmanned system. The lack of an established UAS benchmark for Detect, Sense & Avoid Systems put the preponderance of avoidance efforts on manned aircraft pilots to visually see and avoid potential collision threats. The small size, unusual configurations, and diverse operational applications of unmanned systems make UAS platforms difficult to visually identify. This paper sought to determine the mean visibility distance of small UAS systems (sUAS) to an alerted pilot flying a general …

2015-2016 Eraudb Aiaa Design/Build/Fly Technical Report, Trevor W. Perrott

Student Works

The economic potential of small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) has been well documented and reported. According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), there is an associated economic impact from the growth of the UAV industry. The goal of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design/Build/Fly Competition Research Program (AIAA DBF CRP) is to investigate design and manufacturing methods for application to SUAVs within the scope of the AIAA DBF Competition.

Students were engaged in the application of aerospace engineering knowledge for the production of a dual-aircraft system. Through the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Computer …

A Hybrid Optimization Technique Applied To The Intermediate-Target Optimal Control Problem, Clay J. Humphreys, Richard G. Cobb, David R. Jacques, Jonah A. Reeger

Faculty Publications

The DoD has introduced the concept of Manned-Unmanned Teaming, a subset of which is the loyal wingman. Optimal control techniques have been proposed as a method for rapidly solving the intermediate-target (mid-point constraint) optimal control problem. Initial results using direct orthogonal collocation and a gradient-based method for solving the resulting nonlinear program reveals a tendency to converge to or to get `stuck’ in locally optimal solutions. The literature suggested a hybrid technique in which a particle swarm optimization is used to quickly find a neighborhood of a more globally minimal solution, at which point the algorithm switches to a gradient-based …

Design, Testing And Evaluation Of Robotic Mechanisms And Systems For Environmental Monitoring And Interaction, James K. Higgins

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significantly lowered the cost of remote aerial data collection. The next generation of UAVs, however, will transform the way that scientists and practitioners interact with the environment. In this thesis, we address the challenges of flying low over water to collect water samples and temperature data. We also develop a system that allows UAVs to ignite prescribed fires. Specifically, this thesis contributes a new peristaltic pump designed for use on a UAV for collecting water samples from up to 3m depth and capable of pumping over 6m above the water. Next, temperature sensors and their …

Exploring Civil Drone Accidents And Incidents To Help Prevent Potential Air Disasters, Graham Wild, John Murray, Glenn Baxter

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A recent alleged “drone” collision with a British Airways Airbus A320 at Heathrow Airport highlighted the need to understand civil Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) accidents and incidents (events). This understanding will facilitate improvements in safety by ensuring efforts are focused to reduce the greatest risks. One hundred and fifty two RPAS events were analyzed. The data was collected from a 10-year period (2006 to 2015). Results show that, in contrast to commercial air transportation (CAT), RPAS events have a significantly different distribution when categorized by occurrence type, phase of flight, and safety issue. Specifically, it was found that RPAS …

Comparison Of Sfm Computer Vision Point Clouds Of A Landslide Derived From Multiple Small Uav Platforms And Sensors To A Tls Based Model, Samantha Ruggles, Joseph Clark, Kevin W. Franke, Derek Wolfe, Brandon Reimschiissel, Ronald Abraham Martin, Trent Okeson, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

Structure from motion (SfM) computer vision is a remote sensing method that is gaining popularity due to its simplicity and ability to accurately characterize site geometry in three dimensions (3D). While many researchers have demonstrated the potential for SfM to be used with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to model in three dimensions various geologic features such as landslides, little is understood how the selection of the UAV platform can affect the resolution and accuracy of the model. This study evaluates the resolution and accuracy of 3D point cloud models of a large landslide that occurred in 2013 near Page, Arizona …

Rosflight: A Lightweight, Inexpensive Mav Research And Development Tool, Timothy Mclain, James Jackson, Gary J. Ellingson

Faculty Publications

To accelerate research and development of the autonomous capabilities of micro aerial vehicles we have developed flight control framework, ROSflight, as a research tool. ROSflight makes development of autopilot code easier and more efficient by minimizing the use of embedded systems, incorporating the Robot Operating System and using off-the-shelf and open-source hardware and software. Motivation and applications for use in the research community are discussed. Analysis of loop rate and communication bandwidth are presented as well as results from flight demonstration of two multi-rotor aircraft.

Design And Implementation Of A Controller For A Beaglebone Quadcopter, Peter Olejnik

Graduate Theses - Mechanical Engineering

Unmanned aerial vehicles are quickly becoming a significant and permanent feature in today's world of aviation. Amongst the various types of UAVs, a popular type is the quadcopter. Also referred to as a quadrotor, this rotor craft's defining feature is that it has four propellers. While its use is common in the hobbyist community, this aircraft's use within industry is blooming.

Presented are the efforts to design and implement a controller for a BeagleBone based quadcopter. As part of this effort, characteristics of the quadcopter were experimentally determined. These characteristics consist of physical properties of the quadcopter, such as the …

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast For Detect And Avoid On Small Unmanned Aircraft, Matthew Owen Duffield

Theses and Dissertations

Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are rapidly gaining popularity. As the excitement surrounding small UAS has grown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has repeatedly stated that UAS must be capable of detecting and avoiding manned and unmanned aircraft. In developing detect-and-avoid (DAA) technology, one of the key challenges is identifying a suitable sensor. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) has gained much attention in both the research and consumer sectors as a promising solution. While ADS-B has many positive characteristics, further analysis is necessary to determine if it is suitable as a DAA sensor in environments with high-density small UAS operations. To …

Path Following By A Quadrotor Using Virtual Target Pursuit Guidance, Abhishek Manjunath

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Missile guidance laws have been solely developed to follow and intercept a target thereby destroying or damaging it. In this research, the primary objective is to modify and adopt a missile guidance law to be used on a quadrotor to follow a virtual target. The target is termed 'virtual' as it only exists mathematically in the form of equations. The goal is to have the quadrotor successfully following the predefined path (described by the target) while maintaining a fixed distance from the virtual target. To ensure viability and assess performance, a detailed comparison with another path following law is made.

Flying By Fire: Making Controlled Burns Safer For Humans And Uavs, Rebecca Horzewski, Carrick Detweiler

UCARE Research Products

A temperature sensing circuit board was developed that will allow Nimbus Lab's controlled burn starting UAV to react to the temperatures around it.

Not-So-Risky Business? Assessing The Risk Of Integrating Large Rpvs Into The Current Air Traffic System, Hans-Joachim K. Ruff-Stahl, Steven Esser, Dirk Farsch, Thomas Graner, Robert Klein, Christian Schneidt, Stefan Schoenborn

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

In spite of considerable efforts to commercialize large remotely piloted vehicles (RPV), an integration of these RPVs into the existing Air Transportation System (ATS) and Airspace Structure is pending. The purpose of this paper was to assess the risks of an exemplary integration of a Heron 1 type RPV into the existing European air space structure within the current regulatory framework and without the availability of sense and avoid technology. Six incident occurrence scenarios were investigated, based on a modified Fault Tree Analysis and Eurocontrol’s risk matrix. It was found that without the implementation of technological or procedural changes, an …

Application Of Simultaneous Localization And Mapping Algorithms For Haptic Teleoperation Of Aerial Vehicles, Bandar Hulayyil Aldhafeeri

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, a new type of haptic teleoperator system for remote control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has been developed, where the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms are implemented for the purpose of generating the haptic feedback. Specifically, the haptic feedback is provided to the human operator through interaction with artificial potential field built around the obstacles in the virtual environment which is located at the master site of the teleoperator system. The obstacles in the virtual environment replicate essential features of the actual remote environment where the UAV executes its tasks. The state of the virtual environment …

Uav Wireless Relay, Paul Kirchoff, Lawrence Ng, David Vieth

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Often a scenario arises in which it is necessary to collection information from a hostile environment and the safest way to do this is the deployment of a small unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). In this situation the UGV will move around the environment while sending a live data stream back to the ground base. However, there can be limits on the maneuverability and range of the UGV making it difficult to complete this mission. To solve this problem unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are used to assist in both the deployment of the UGV as well as handling the connection between …

Enhancing Fire Fighter Situational Awareness With Remote Uav Thermal Imaging, Jarett Chaine, Nathan Ellingson, Herve Iradukunda

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Fighting highly dynamic and unpredictable structure fires can be very challenging and dangerous for firefighters. They need full situational awareness of the fire as it evolves. In these situations, it is difficult for firefighters to gain insight on whether they are winning or losing the battle against the fire. By gathering thermal images of a burning structure, our Thermal Imaging System will be able to provide real time data to help first responders mitigate risks associated with unpredictable fire dynamics.

The FAA is currently modifying and creating more regulations to address integrating UAVs with the existing aviation network. This makes …

Implementation Of An Air Supply Unit Control Scheme For The Uc2av (Unmanned Circulation Control Aerial Vehicle), Cameron Rosen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The expanded prevalence of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in recent years has created many opportunities to research novel applications for their use, enabled by the reduced cost, mission flexibility, and reduced risk that small-scale unmanned platforms provide in comparison to larger aircraft. Despite the versatility of unmanned aviation, limitations on payload size and weight, fuel and power capacity, and takeoff and landing infrastructure can restrict UAV applications, and have created a need for lift augmenting technologies that can reduce the impact of these limitations. Circulation Control (CC) is an active flow technique that has been proven as a method for …

Dust Susceptibility At Mine Tailings Impoundments: Thermal Remote Sensing For Dust Susceptibility Characterization And Biological Soil Crusts For Dust Susceptibility Reduction, Bonnie Zwissler

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Mining operations produce massive volumes of mine tailings, which are deposited as slurry into permanent tailings impoundments. An important and heavily regulated environmental hazard associated with mine tailings impoundments is fugitive dust emissions. Wind erosion of mine tailings impoundments and the resulting dusting events, especially those caused by cold weather dusting, remain an on-going challenge for the mining industry. The overall goal of this research was to develop and evaluate effective, economical, and sustainable solutions to two major issues facing mine tailings impoundments with regards to dusting: (1) dust monitoring/detection and (2) dust reduction/prevention. Specifically, the research studied iron mine …

Thrust Sensing For Small Uavs, Christopher Scott Marchman

Masters Theses

"Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become prevalent in both military and civilian applications. UAVs have many size categories from large-scale aircraft to micro air vehicles. The performance, health, and efficiency for UAVs of smaller sizes can be difficult to assess and few associated instrumentation systems have been developed. Thrust measurements on the ground can characterize systems especially when combined with simultaneous motor power measurements. This thesis demonstrates the use of strain measurements to measure the thrust produced by motor/propeller combinations for such small UAVs. A full-bridge Wheatstone circuit and electrical resistance strain gauges were used in conjunction with constant-stress cantilever …

Wide-Scale Small Unmanned Aircraft System Access To The National Airspace System, John Robbins, Brent Terwilliger, David Ison, Dennis Vincenzi

Publications

Expected revisions of federal policies and regulations for the operation and certification of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are anticipated to significantly increase the volume of traffic in the National Airspace System (NAS). By investigating critical needs of regulatory compliance and safety, as well as new advancements, it may be possible to identify strategies to address the most pressing concerns of sUAS integration. Findings and recommendations from this research are presented to highlight implications and possible solutions to urgent needs of UAS stakehold-ers, including industry, government, and academia.