Cooperative monocular-based SLAM for multi-UAV systems in GPS-denied environments

This work presents a cooperative monocular-based SLAM approach for multi-UAV systems that can operate in GPS-denied environments. The main contribution of the work is to show that, using visual information obtained from monocular cameras mounted onboard aerial vehicles flying in formation, the observability properties of the whole system are improved. This fact is especially notorious when compared with other related visual SLAM configurations. In order to improve the observability properties, some measurements of the relative distance between the UAVs are included in the system. These relative distances are also obtained from visual information. The proposed approach is theoretically validated by means of a nonlinear observability analysis. Furthermore, an extensive set of computer simulations is presented in order to validate the proposed approach. The numerical simulation results show that the proposed system is able to provide a good position and orientation estimation of the aerial vehicles flying in formation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Domain: Areas of Research

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) domain has seen rapid developments in recent years. As the number of UAVs increases and as the missions involving UAVs vary, new research issues surface. An overview of the existing research areas in the UAV domain has been presented including the nature of the work categorised under different groups. These research areas are divided into two main streams: Technological and operational research areas. The research areas in technology are divided into onboard and ground technologies. The research areas in operations are divided into organization level, brigade level, user level, standards and certifications, regulations and legal, moral, and ethical issues. This overview is intended to serve as a starting point for fellow researchers new to the domain, to help researchers in positioning their research, identifying related research areas, and focusing on the right issues.Defence Science Journal, Vol. 65, No. 4, July 2015, pp. 319-329, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.65.863

SwarMAV: A Swarm of Miniature Aerial Vehicles

As the MAV (Micro or Miniature Aerial Vehicles) field matures, we expect to see that the platform's degree of autonomy, the information exchange, and the coordination with other manned and unmanned actors, will become at least as crucial as its aerodynamic design. The project described in this paper explores some aspects of a particularly exciting possible avenue of development: an autonomous swarm of MAVs which exploits its inherent reliability (through redundancy), and its ability to exchange information among the members, in order to cope with a dynamically changing environment and achieve its mission. We describe the successful realization of a prototype experimental platform weighing only 75g, and outline a strategy for the automatic design of a suitable controller