Past Projects
Lyapunov-based controllers are investigated to steer a fixed-wing mini aerial vehicle (MAV) along a desired path. The control strategy yields global convergence of the current path of the MAV to the desired trajectory.
Furthermore, a trajectory generator responsable to find the shortest path for the non-holonomic model of the UAV is proposed. Such path generator is based on the Dubins paths.
This work addresses the problem of road following for MAVs equipped with onboard image processing systems. The main objective consists of estimating and tracking the road without a priori knowledge of the path to be tracked. Special interest is also given to the development of efficient estimation and control strategies for dealing with situations when the road is not detected in the camera image. Aiming at this goal, two operational regions are defined: one for the case when the road is detected and another for the case when it is not. The performance of the control strategies is tested in numerical simulations and real-time experiments, successfully validating the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.
Stereo Vision and GPS-based Real Time Trajectory Planning for MAVs
This research address the problem of real-time optimal trajectory generation of a micro Air Vehicle (MAV) in unknown and low-sunlight environments. The MAV is required to navigate from an initial and outdoor position to a final position inside of a building. In order to achieve this goal, the MAV must estimate a window of the building. For this purpose, we develop a safe path planning method using the information provided by the GPS and a consumer depth camera.
Our system’s ability to identify and estimate a window model and the relative position w.r.t. the window is demonstrated through video sequences collected from the experimental platform.
This work addresses the problem of fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) for a quad-rotor mini aerial vehicle (MAV). Actuator faults are considered. The basic idea behind the proposed method is to estimate the faults signals using the extended state observers theory. To estimate the faults, a polynomial observer is presented by using the available measurements and know inputs of the system. In order to investigate the observability and diagnosability properties of the system, a differential algebra approach is proposed.
Dealing with the high amount of obstacles inherent to GPS-denied cluttered environments is a major challenge for flying vehicles.
Conventional flying platforms cannot afford to collide with obstacles, as the disturbance from the impact may provoke a crash to the ground, especially when friction forces generate torques affecting the attitude of the platform.
We propose a design comprising an inner frame equipped with conventional propulsion and stabilization systems enclosed in a protective cage that can rotate passively thanks to a 3-axis gimbal system, which reduces the impact of friction forces on the attitude of the inner frame.
