A Constraint-based Flight Control System Architecture for UAVs using the iTaSC Framework

Abstract—(Semi-) autonomous complex UAV missions, such as inspection or search-and-rescue in uncertain dynamic environments, require obstacle avoidance and operator shared control. Combining humans’ cognitive abilities with fast automation is the key for such missions. This paper presents a flight control system architecture based on the instantaneous Task Specification using Constraints (iTaSC) methodology and software framework. iTaSC is a flexible constraint-based programming approach that generates a robot motion at runtime which automatically derives the input for a low-level controller taking into account constraints and intentions from the operator, obstacles and mission constraints. This setup is experimentally validated by navigating a multirotor UAV safely through a GPS-denied corridor using (intuitive) shared control with a pilot. In addition to the pilot’s commands, automatic obstacle avoidance and object tracking are performed real-time through various onboard sensors and with limited onboard computational power.

ISBN:978-1-4673-9334-8

Jaar van publicatie:2016

BOF-keylabel:ja

IOF-keylabel:ja

Authors from:Higher Education

Toegankelijkheid:Open