43,791 research outputs found
sUAS Swarm Navigation using Inertial, Range Radios and Partial GNSS
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) operations are increasing in demand and complexity. Using multiple cooperative sUAS (i.e. a swarm) can be beneficial and is sometimes necessary to perform certain tasks (e.g., precision agriculture, mapping, surveillance) either independent or collaboratively. However, controlling the flight of multiple sUAS autonomously and in real-time in a challenging environment in terms of obstacles and navigation requires highly accurate absolute and relative position and velocity information for all platforms in the swarm. This information is also necessary to effectively and efficiently resolve possible collision encounters between the sUAS. In our swarm, each platform is equipped with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensor, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a baro-altimeter and a relative range sensor (range radio). When GNSS is available, its measurements are tightly integrated with IMU, baro-altimeter and range-radio measurements to obtain the platform’s absolute and relative position. When GNSS is not available due to external factors (e.g., obstructions, interference), the position and velocity estimators switch to an integrated solution based on IMU, baro and relative range meas-urements. This solution enables the system to maintain an accurate relative position estimate, and reduce the drift in the swarm’s absolute position estimate as is typical of an IMU-based system.
Multiple multi-copter data collection platforms have been developed and equipped with GNSS, inertial sensors and range radios, which were developed at Ohio University. This paper outlines the underlying methodology, the platform hardware components (three multi-copters and one ground station) and analyzes and discusses the performance using both simulation and sUAS flight test data
Field test of multi-hop image sensing network prototype on a city-wide scale
Open Access funded by Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommuniocations Under a Creative Commons license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Wireless multimedia sensor network drastically stretches the horizon of traditional monitoring and surveillance systems, of which most existing research have utilised Zigbee or WiFi as the communication technology. Both technologies use ultra high frequencies (mainly 2.4 GHz) and suffer from relatively short transmission range (i.e. 100 m line-of-sight). The objective of this paper is to assess the feasibility and potential of transmitting image information using RF modules with lower frequencies (e.g. 433 MHz) in order to achieve a larger scale deployment such as a city scenario. Arduino platform is used for its low cost and simplicity. The details of hardware properties are elaborated in the article, followed by an investigation of optimum configurations for the system. Upon an initial range testing outcome of over 2000 m line-of-sight transmission distance, the prototype network has been installed in a real life city plot for further examination of performance. A range of suitable applications has been proposed along with suggestions for future research.Peer reviewe
Efficient Data Collection in Multimedia Vehicular Sensing Platforms
Vehicles provide an ideal platform for urban sensing applications, as they
can be equipped with all kinds of sensing devices that can continuously monitor
the environment around the travelling vehicle. In this work we are particularly
concerned with the use of vehicles as building blocks of a multimedia mobile
sensor system able to capture camera snapshots of the streets to support
traffic monitoring and urban surveillance tasks. However, cameras are high
data-rate sensors while wireless infrastructures used for vehicular
communications may face performance constraints. Thus, data redundancy
mitigation is of paramount importance in such systems. To address this issue in
this paper we exploit sub-modular optimisation techniques to design efficient
and robust data collection schemes for multimedia vehicular sensor networks. We
also explore an alternative approach for data collection that operates on
longer time scales and relies only on localised decisions rather than
centralised computations. We use network simulations with realistic vehicular
mobility patterns to verify the performance gains of our proposed schemes
compared to a baseline solution that ignores data redundancy. Simulation
results show that our data collection techniques can ensure a more accurate
coverage of the road network while significantly reducing the amount of
transferred data
Regional Data Archiving and Management for Northeast Illinois
This project studies the feasibility and implementation options for establishing a regional data archiving system to help monitor
and manage traffic operations and planning for the northeastern Illinois region. It aims to provide a clear guidance to the
regional transportation agencies, from both technical and business perspectives, about building such a comprehensive
transportation information system. Several implementation alternatives are identified and analyzed. This research is carried
out in three phases.
In the first phase, existing documents related to ITS deployments in the broader Chicago area are summarized, and a
thorough review is conducted of similar systems across the country. Various stakeholders are interviewed to collect
information on all data elements that they store, including the format, system, and granularity. Their perception of a data
archive system, such as potential benefits and costs, is also surveyed. In the second phase, a conceptual design of the
database is developed. This conceptual design includes system architecture, functional modules, user interfaces, and
examples of usage. In the last phase, the possible business models for the archive system to sustain itself are reviewed. We
estimate initial capital and recurring operational/maintenance costs for the system based on realistic information on the
hardware, software, labor, and resource requirements. We also identify possible revenue opportunities.
A few implementation options for the archive system are summarized in this report; namely:
1. System hosted by a partnering agency
2. System contracted to a university
3. System contracted to a national laboratory
4. System outsourced to a service provider
The costs, advantages and disadvantages for each of these recommended options are also provided.ICT-R27-22published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe
Unmanned Aerial Systems for Wildland and Forest Fires
Wildfires represent an important natural risk causing economic losses, human
death and important environmental damage. In recent years, we witness an
increase in fire intensity and frequency. Research has been conducted towards
the development of dedicated solutions for wildland and forest fire assistance
and fighting. Systems were proposed for the remote detection and tracking of
fires. These systems have shown improvements in the area of efficient data
collection and fire characterization within small scale environments. However,
wildfires cover large areas making some of the proposed ground-based systems
unsuitable for optimal coverage. To tackle this limitation, Unmanned Aerial
Systems (UAS) were proposed. UAS have proven to be useful due to their
maneuverability, allowing for the implementation of remote sensing, allocation
strategies and task planning. They can provide a low-cost alternative for the
prevention, detection and real-time support of firefighting. In this paper we
review previous work related to the use of UAS in wildfires. Onboard sensor
instruments, fire perception algorithms and coordination strategies are
considered. In addition, we present some of the recent frameworks proposing the
use of both aerial vehicles and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UV) for a more
efficient wildland firefighting strategy at a larger scale.Comment: A recent published version of this paper is available at:
https://doi.org/10.3390/drones501001
On Achieving Diversity in the Presence of Outliers in Participatory Camera Sensor Networks
This paper addresses the problem of collection and
delivery of a representative subset of pictures, in participatory camera networks, to maximize coverage when a significant portion of the pictures may be redundant or irrelevant. Consider, for example, a rescue mission where volunteers and survivors of a large-scale disaster scout a wide area to capture pictures of
damage in distressed neighborhoods, using handheld cameras, and report them to a rescue station. In this participatory camera network, a significant amount of pictures may be redundant (i.e., similar pictures may be reported by many) or irrelevant (i.e., may
not document an event of interest). Given this pool of pictures, we aim to build a protocol to store and deliver a smaller subset of pictures, among all those taken, that minimizes redundancy and eliminates irrelevant objects and outliers. While previous work addressed removal of redundancy alone, doing so in the presence of outliers is tricky, because outliers, by their very nature, are different from other objects, causing redundancy minimizing algorithms to favor their inclusion, which is at odds with the goal of finding a representative subset. To eliminate both outliers and redundancy at the same time, two seemingly opposite objectives must be met together. The contribution of this
paper lies in a new prioritization technique (and its in-network
implementation) that minimizes redundancy among delivered
pictures, while also reducing outliers.unpublishedis peer reviewe
leave a trace - A People Tracking System Meets Anomaly Detection
Video surveillance always had a negative connotation, among others because of
the loss of privacy and because it may not automatically increase public
safety. If it was able to detect atypical (i.e. dangerous) situations in real
time, autonomously and anonymously, this could change. A prerequisite for this
is a reliable automatic detection of possibly dangerous situations from video
data. This is done classically by object extraction and tracking. From the
derived trajectories, we then want to determine dangerous situations by
detecting atypical trajectories. However, due to ethical considerations it is
better to develop such a system on data without people being threatened or even
harmed, plus with having them know that there is such a tracking system
installed. Another important point is that these situations do not occur very
often in real, public CCTV areas and may be captured properly even less. In the
artistic project leave a trace the tracked objects, people in an atrium of a
institutional building, become actor and thus part of the installation.
Visualisation in real-time allows interaction by these actors, which in turn
creates many atypical interaction situations on which we can develop our
situation detection. The data set has evolved over three years and hence, is
huge. In this article we describe the tracking system and several approaches
for the detection of atypical trajectories
MusA: Using Indoor Positioning and Navigation to Enhance Cultural Experiences in a museum
In recent years there has been a growing interest into the use of multimedia mobile guides in museum environments. Mobile devices have the capabilities to detect the user context and to provide pieces of information suitable to help visitors discovering and following the logical and emotional connections that develop during the visit. In this scenario, location based services (LBS) currently represent an asset, and the choice of the technology to determine users' position, combined with the definition of methods that can effectively convey information, become key issues in the design process. In this work, we present MusA (Museum Assistant), a general framework for the development of multimedia interactive guides for mobile devices. Its main feature is a vision-based indoor positioning system that allows the provision of several LBS, from way-finding to the contextualized communication of cultural contents, aimed at providing a meaningful exploration of exhibits according to visitors' personal interest and curiosity. Starting from the thorough description of the system architecture, the article presents the implementation of two mobile guides, developed to respectively address adults and children, and discusses the evaluation of the user experience and the visitors' appreciation of these application
Weathering the Nest: Privacy Implications of Home Monitoring for the Aging American Population
The research in this paper will seek to ascertain the extent of personal data entry and collection required to enjoy at least the minimal promised benefits of distributed intelligence and monitoring in the home. Particular attention will be given to the abilities and sensitivities of the population most likely to need these devices, notably the elderly and disabled. The paper will then evaluate whether existing legal limitations on the collection, maintenance, and use of such data are applicable to devices currently in use in the home environment and whether such regulations effectively protect privacy. Finally, given appropriate policy parameters, the paper will offer proposals to effectuate reasonable and practical privacy-protective solutions for developers and consumers
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