An open benchmark for distributed formation flight control of Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The capability of autonomous formation flight has the potential to significantly enhance the utility and efficiency of small low-cost Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Formations of small, inexpensive fixed-wing UAS allow for the sharing of remote sensing functionality, mission-level redundancy and range enhancements due to aerodynamic interactions widely exploited by migratory birds. This article presents a benchmark problem for scalable distributed flight control of formations of UAS with only local relative state information, one of the open problems in this field as of today. The benchmark is openly available and comprises a nonlinear six degrees of freedom dynamics model of an electric glider UAS. In this article we furthermore introduce a nominal guidance frame that does not require state information of other UAS and point out a fundamental issue related to wake vortex tracking during formation maneuvers. A set of LQ baseline controllers that are part of the benchmark is presented along with simulation results

Close Formation Flight Missions Using Vision-Based Position Detection System

In this thesis, a formation flight architecture is described along with the implementation and evaluation of a state-of-the-art vision-based algorithm for solving the problem of estimating and tracking a leader vehicle within a close-formation configuration. A vision-based algorithm that uses Darknet architecture and a formation flight control law to track and follow a leader with desired clearance in forward, lateral directions are developed and implemented. The architecture is run on a flight computer that handles the process in real-time while integrating navigation sensors and a stereo camera. Numerical simulations along with indoor and outdoor actual flight tests demonstrate the capabilities of detection and tracking by providing a low cost, compact size and low weight solution for the problem of estimating the location of other cooperative or non-cooperative flying vehicles within a formation architecture

Einstein, von Frisch and the honeybee: a historical letter comes to light

AbstractThe work of the Nobel Laureate Karl von Frisch, the founder of this journal, was seminal in many ways. He established the honeybee as a key animal model for experimental behavioural studies on sensory perception, learning and memory, and first correctly interpreted its famous dance communication. Here, we report on a previously unknown letter by the Physicist and Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein that was written in October 1949. It briefly addresses the work of von Frisch and also queries how understanding animal perception and navigation may lead to innovations in physics. We discuss records proving that Einstein and von Frisch met in April 1949 when von Frisch visited the USA to present a lecture on bees at Princeton University. In the historical context of Einstein’s theories and thought experiments, we discuss some more recent discoveries of animal sensory capabilities alien to us humans and potentially valuable for bio-inspired design improvements. We also address the orientation of animals like migratory birds mentioned by Einstein 70 years ago, which pushes the boundaries of our understanding nature, both its biology and physics.</jats:p

Innovation for the Air: A Brief History of Worldwide Aviation

The purpose of this report is to present a brief but comprehensive overview of the variety of innovations related to aviation, and to discuss their impact on scientific progress over the course of human history. Relevant discoveries from the fields of physics and aerodynamics, and the numerous technologies built based upon these discoveries, are discussed over a period ranging from ancient times to the twenty-first century. The scope of this report is an overview of the development of powered and unpowered aircraft, including lighter-than-air, heavier-than-air, and aerospace technologies. Aviation developments were generally not limited to one specific country or person, but often came from a combination of research and testing from many engineers and enthusiasts from a variety of locations and backgrounds. Races to meet milestones would inspire competition between individuals, scientific institutions, and countries. It is hoped that this report will be instructive to readers who may not have extensive familiarity with aviation-related history, and will promote personal research and interest

Robotic Herding of a Flock of Birds Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

In this paper, we derive an algorithm for enabling a single robotic unmanned aerial vehicle to herd a flock of birds away from a designated volume of space, such as the air space around an airport. The herding algorithm, referred to as the m-waypoint algorithm, is designed using a dynamic model of bird flocking based on Reynolds’ rules. We derive bounds on its performance using a combination of reduced-order modeling of the flock's motion, heuristics, and rigorous analysis. A unique contribution of the paper is the experimental demonstration of several facets of the herding algorithm on flocks of live birds reacting to a robotic pursuer. The experiments allow us to estimate several parameters of the flocking model, and especially the interaction between the pursuer and the flock. The herding algorithm is also demonstrated using numerical simulations