Key Technologies and Verification of Cooperative Positioning Take-off and Landing for USVs and UAVs

Abstract

An unmanned surface vessel(USV) single-platform is easily restricted by the platform during surface mission execution, and the construction of a cross-platform system for USVs and unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) can realize the complementary advantages of the platform. In this paper, the take-off and landing and energy replenishment technologies of USVs and UAVs were studied to realize the enduring cooperative operation of USVs and UAVs. Firstly, for the problem of UAV taking off and landing on dynamic USVs, the research on cooperative positioning take-off and landing technologies for USVs and UAVs was carried out, and the dynamic update model of speed and position information of USVs and UAVs was studied, realizing high-precision take-off and landing of UAVs at the USV end. Secondly, to address the problem of the short endurance time of UAVs, the research on UAV replenishment at the USV end was carried out, and the take-off and landing mechanism at the UAV end and the charging mechanism at the USV end were investigated to realize the rapid replenishment of UAVs landing on the USV. Finally, the performance of the cross-platform take-off and landing and energy replenishment system for USVs and UAVs was verified at sea. In the test, UAVs could land at the USV end and get energy replenished at the high-speed movement of 3.0 m/s of the USV-UAV system, meeting the demand of cross-platform mission execution by USVs and UAVs at sea.

Keywords

• unmanned surface vessel
• unmanned aerial vehicle
• cross-platform
• take-off and landing
• energy replenishment