Algoritms for determining the attitude position of an unmanned aerial vehicle relative to the landing platform by using computer vision

Abstract

Algorithms for determining the attitude position of an aircraft or helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicle relative to the landing platform with special optical marks are considered. An assessment is made of the possibility of calculating the angular position, height and distance to the landing platform in real time based on image processing by a separate on-board processor combined with a digital optical camera into a single measuring unit. The results of calculating the aircraft attitude relative to the landing platform moving along a program trajectory using computer vision algorithms are presented. Simulation of the process of recognizing optical marks on a moving platform from a moving aircraft confirmed that using a processor with a program for recognizing and identifying optical marks by using computer vision and algorithms for calculating the position of the aircraft relative to landing platforms can assuredly provide reliable information about the positioning of an unmanned aerial vehicle relative to the landing platform in real time and can be used in conjunction with other navigation aids (or independently) to ensure accurate landing of unmanned aircraft.

Keywords

• unmanned aerial vehicles
• computer vision
• automatic landing
• landing platform