OPTIC FLOW BASED STATION-KEEPING AND WIND REJECTION FOR SMALL FLYING VEHICLES

Abstract

Optic flow and Wide Field Integration (WFI) have shown potential for application to autonomous navigation of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). In this study the application of these same methods to other tasks, namely station-keeping and wind rejection, is examined. Theory surrounding optic flow, WFI and wind gust modeling is examined to provide a theoretical background. A controller based on a H∞ bounded formulation of the well known Linear Quadratic Regulator in designed to both mitigate wind disturbances and station-keep. The performance of this controller is assessed via simulation to determine both performance and trade-offs in implementation such as the method for optic flow calculation. Furthermore, flight tests are performed to examine the real world effectiveness of the controller. Finally, conclusions about potential improvement to implementation are drawn.