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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Experiments In Distributed Multi-Robot Coordination, Larry Dale Ballard Dec 2008

Experiments In Distributed Multi-Robot Coordination, Larry Dale Ballard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Consensus control algorithms for multi-agent systems are an area of much research. Several consensus control laws are experimentally validated on a multi-robot testbed in this thesis. A graphical user interface (GUI) is developed that simplies use of the testbed, as well as allows the execution of the testbed programs to be divided across multiple computers. This not only provides a more powerful computing environment, but a more realistic communication environment for the testbed. A method for a time varying or dynamic formation is both proposed and experimentally validated on the testbed. This research also explores a method for dynamic group …


Decentralized Perimeter Surveillance Using A Team Of Uavs, Randal Beard, David Casbeer, Derek Kingston Dec 2008

Decentralized Perimeter Surveillance Using A Team Of Uavs, Randal Beard, David Casbeer, Derek Kingston

Faculty Publications

Sponsorship: NASA, AFOSR. This paper develops a distributed algorithm to maintain a current estimate of the state of the perimeter using a team of UAVs. Using notions of consensus, an algorithm is developed and shown to distribute a UAV team uniformly around the perimeter.


Application Of Parent-Child Uav Tasking For Wildfire Detection And Response, Stephen T. Kubik Dec 2008

Application Of Parent-Child Uav Tasking For Wildfire Detection And Response, Stephen T. Kubik

Master's Theses

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a dominant force in the aerospace industry. Recent technological developments have moved these aircraft from remote operation roles to more active response missions. Of particular interest is the possibility of applying UAVs toward solving complex problems in long-endurance missions. Under that belief, the feasibility of utilizing UAVs for wildfire detection and response was investigated in a partnership that included NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and Science Mission Directorate, and the United States Forest Service. Under NASA’s Intelligent Mission Management (IMM) project, research was conducted to develop a mission architecture that would …


Aerobatic Maneuvering Of Miniature Air Vehicles Using Attitude Trajectories, James K. Hall, Timothy W. Mclain Aug 2008

Aerobatic Maneuvering Of Miniature Air Vehicles Using Attitude Trajectories, James K. Hall, Timothy W. Mclain

Faculty Publications

We develop aerobatic maneuvering for miniature air vehicles (MAVs) using time-parameterized attitude trajectory generation and an associated attitude tracking control law. We develop two methodologies, polynomial or trigonometric, for creating smooth functions that specify pitch and roll angle trajectories. For both approaches, the functions are constrained by the maneuver boundary conditions for aircraft position and velocity. We develop a feedback control law to regulate aircraft orientation throughout the maneuvers. The performance of our trajectory generation algorithm and our attitude tracking control law is demonstrated through simulated and actual flight tests of aerobatic maneuvers.


A Surveillance System To Create And Distribute Geo-Referenced Mosaics Using Suav Video, Evan D. Andersen Jun 2008

A Surveillance System To Create And Distribute Geo-Referenced Mosaics Using Suav Video, Evan D. Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs) are an attractive choice for many surveillance tasks. However, video from an SUAV can be difficult to use in its raw form. In addition, the limitations inherent in the SUAV platform inhibit the distribution of video to remote users. To solve the problems with using SUAV video, we propose a system to automatically create geo-referenced mosiacs of video frames. We also present three novel techniques we have developed to improve ortho-rectification and geo-location accuracy of the mosaics. The most successful of these techniques is able to reduce geo-location error by a factor of 15 with …


Development Of A Miniature Vtol Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Jeffrey V. Hogge Apr 2008

Development Of A Miniature Vtol Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Jeffrey V. Hogge

Theses and Dissertations

The design, analysis, construction and flight testing of a miniature Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) tail-sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) prototype is presented in detail. Classic aircraft design methods were combined with numerical analysis to estimate the aircraft performance and flight characteristics. The numerical analysis employed a propeller blade-element theory coupled with momentum equations to predict the influence of a propeller slipstream on the freestream flow field, then the aircraft was analyzed using 3-D vortex lifting-line theory to model finite wings immersed in the flow field. Four prototypes were designed, built, and tested and the evolution of these prototypes is …


Path Planning For Unmanned Air And Ground Vehicles In Urban Environments, Andrew B. Curtis Feb 2008

Path Planning For Unmanned Air And Ground Vehicles In Urban Environments, Andrew B. Curtis

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned vehicle systems, specifically unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), have become a popular research topic. This thesis discusses the potential of a UAV-UGV system used to track a human moving through complex urban terrain. This research focuses on path planning problems for both a UAV and a UGV, and presents effective solutions for both problems. In the UAV path planning problem, we desire to plan a path for a miniature fixed-wing UAV to fly through known urban terrain without colliding with any buildings. We present the Waypoint RRT (WRRT) algorithm, which accounts for UAV dynamics while …


Pid Parameter Optimization Of An Uav Longitudinal Flight Control System, Kamran Turkoglu, Ugur Ozdemir, Melike Nikbay, Elbrous Jafarov Jan 2008

Pid Parameter Optimization Of An Uav Longitudinal Flight Control System, Kamran Turkoglu, Ugur Ozdemir, Melike Nikbay, Elbrous Jafarov

Faculty Publications

In this paper, an automatic control system design based on Integral Squared Error (ISE) parameter optimization technique has been implemented on longitudinal flight dynamics of an UAV. It has been aimed to minimize the error function between the reference signal and the output of the plant. In the following parts, objective function has been defined with respect to error dynamics. An unconstrained optimization problem has been solved analytically by using necessary and sufficient conditions of optimality, optimum PID parameters have been obtained and implemented in control system dynamics.


Pid Parameter Optimization Of An Uav Longitudinal Flight Control System, Kamran Turkoglu, Ugur Ozdemir, Melike Nikbay, Elbrous M. Jafarov Jan 2008

Pid Parameter Optimization Of An Uav Longitudinal Flight Control System, Kamran Turkoglu, Ugur Ozdemir, Melike Nikbay, Elbrous M. Jafarov

Kamran Turkoglu

In this paper, an automatic control system design based on Integral Squared Error (ISE) parameter optimization technique has been implemented on longitudinal flight dynamics of an UAV. It has been aimed to minimize the error function between the reference signal and the output of the plant. In the following parts, objective function has been defined with respect to error dynamics. An unconstrained optimization problem has been solved analytically by using necessary and sufficient conditions of optimality, optimum PID parameters have been obtained and implemented in control system dynamics.