Development of a Low Cost Autopilot System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
The purpose of this thesis was to develop a low cost autonomous flight control system for small unmanned aerial vehicles with the aim to support collaborative systems. A low cost hardware solution was achieved by careful selection of sensors, integration of hardware subsystems, and the use of new mi...
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| Format: | Others |
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VCU Scholars Compass
2010
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| Online Access: | http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2252 http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3251&context=etd |
| Summary: | The purpose of this thesis was to develop a low cost autonomous flight control system for small unmanned aerial vehicles with the aim to support collaborative systems. A low cost hardware solution was achieved by careful selection of sensors, integration of hardware subsystems, and the use of new microcontroller technologies. Flight control algorithms to guide a vehicle though waypoint based flight paths and loiter about a point were implemented using direction fields. A hardware in the loop simulator was developed to ensure proper operation of all hardware and software components prior to flight testing. The resulting flight control system achieved stable and accurate flight while reducing the total system cost to less than $250. |
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