Embedded Laser Vision System for Indoor Aerial Autonomous Navigation

Abstract

An embedded laser vision system for indoor autonomous navigation of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is presented. The vision system is composed of a camera, a classical laser line and vision algorithms and it estimates its distance and its heading with respect to a wall placed in front of the camera frame. The image processing is executed onboard and the obtained measures are sent to the microprocessor to compute the control algorithms. A flight simulator is developed in order to validate the control strategy. Additionally, flight tests are carried out in order to prove the efficiency of the closed-loop system.