Horizontal control of unmanned aerial vehicle to facilitate landing

• Main Author: Manikandan, Harikrishnan.
• Other Authors: Xie Lihua
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Control and instrumentation::Control engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/54384
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs) are prone to unwanted movements due to external disturbances (eg: wind) or/and internal errors in its design. Without closed loop control, it is difficult to fly a UAV, be it for specific or recreational purposes. This project has tested and developed a method of implementation of horizontal control of a UAV to facilitate its landing using an off-board control mechanism. This method uses an IP camera attached beneath the UAV which transmits images continuously to the ground computer, which processes the image to calculate the error in the position of the UAV with respect to a ground landing sign. This error is then corrected by sending the appropriate control signal to the UAV using a Radio Controller (RC) which is connected to the ground computer, where the value of the correction signals are calculated. This method is then tested using a GAUI 330X Quadcopter and a Dlink DCS - 942L IP Camera.