Data in Brief (Feb 2024)

UAV sensor failures dataset: Biomisa arducopter sensory critique (BASiC)

  • Muhammad Waqas Ahmad,
  • Muhammad Usman Akram

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 52
p. 110069

Abstract

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) rely on a variety of sensors to perceive and navigate their airborne environment with precision. The autopilot software interprets this sensory data, acting as the control mechanism for autonomous flights. As UAVs are exposed to physical environment, they are vulnerable to potential impairments in their sensory mechanism. Their real-time interactions with the actual atmosphere make them susceptible to cyber exploitations as well, where sensory data alterations through counterfeit wireless signals pose a significant threat. In this context, sensor failures can result into unsafe flight conditions, as the fault handling logic may fail to anticipate the context of the issue, allowing autopilot to execute operations without necessary adjustments. Untimely control of sensor failures can result in mid-air collisions or crashes. To address these challenges, we created Biomisa Arducopter Sensory Critique (BASiC) dataset, a state-of-the-art resource for UAV sensor failure analysis. The BASiC dataset comprises 70 autonomous flight data, spanning over 7 hours. It encompasses 3+ hours of (each) pre-failure and post-failure data, along with 1+ hour of no-failure data. We selected the ArduPilot platform as our demonstration aerial vehicle to conduct the experiments. By engineering Software in the Loop (SITL) parameters, we effectively executed sensor failure test simulations. Our dataset incorporates six representative sensors failures which are critical to UAV operations: global positioning system (GPS) for precise aerial positioning, remote control for communication with the ground control station (GCS), accelerometer for measuring linear acceleration, gyroscope for rotational acceleration measurement, compass providing heading information, and barometer for maintaining flight height based on atmospheric pressure data. The availability of the BASiC dataset will benefit the research community, empowering researchers to explore and experiment with state-of-the-art deep learning models by tailoring them for time series signal analysis. It may also contribute in enhancing the safety and reliability of mission-critical autonomous UAV flights.

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