Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Recovery Using a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Algorithm without the Aid of Global Positioning System

Abstract

This paper deals with a new method of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) recovery when a UAV fails to get a global positioning system (GPS) signal at an unprepared site. The proposed method is based on the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm. It is a process by which a vehicle can build a map of an unknown environment and simultaneously use this map to determine its position. Extensive research on SLAM algorithms proves that the error in the map reaches a lower limit, which is a function of the error that existed when the first observation was made. For this reason, the proposed method can help an inertial navigation system to prevent its error of divergence with regard to the vehicle position. In other words, it is possible that a UAV can navigate with reasonable positional accuracy in an unknown environment without the aid of GPS. This is the main idea of the present paper. Especially, this paper focuses on path planning that maximizes the discussed ability of a SLAM algorithm. In this work, a SLAM algorithm based on extended Kalman filter is used. For simplicity’s sake, a blimp-type of UAV model is discussed and three-dimensional pointed-shape landmarks are considered. Finally, the proposed method is evaluated by a number of simulations.