In this paper we propose an effective vision-based navigation method that
allows a multirotor vehicle to simultaneously reach a desired goal pose in the
environment while constantly facing a target object or landmark. Standard
techniques such as Position-Based Visual Servoing (PBVS) and Image-Based Visual
Servoing (IBVS) in some cases (e.g., while the multirotor is performing fast
maneuvers) do not allow to constantly maintain the line of sight with a target
of interest. Instead, we compute the optimal trajectory by solving a non-linear
optimization problem that minimizes the target re-projection error while
meeting the UAV's dynamic constraints. The desired trajectory is then tracked
by means of a real-time Non-linear Model Predictive Controller (NMPC): this
implicitly allows the multirotor to satisfy both the required constraints. We
successfully evaluate the proposed approach in many real and simulated
experiments, making an exhaustive comparison with a standard approach.Comment: Conference paper at "European Conference on Mobile Robotics" (ECMR)
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