Autonomous Flying Robots: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Micro Aerial Vehicles

348 Pages·2010·11.93 MB·English

Autonomous Flying Robots
Kenzo Nonami (cid:129) Farid Kendoul (cid:129) Satoshi Suzuki
Wei Wang (cid:129) Daisuke Nakazawa
Autonomous Flying Robots
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
and Micro Aerial Vehicles
123
KenzoNonami WeiWang
VicePresident,Professor,Ph.D. Professor,Ph.D.
FacultyofEngineering CollegeofInformation
ChibaUniversity andControlEngineering
1-33Yayoi-cho,Inage-ku NanjingUniversityofInformationScience
Chiba263-8522,Japan &Technology
[email protected] 219NingLiuRoad,Nanjing
Jiangsu210044,P.R.China
FaridKendoul [email protected]
ResearchScientist,Ph.D.
CSIROQueenslandCentre DaisukeNakazawa
forAdvancedTechnologies Engineer,Ph.D.
AutonomousSystemsLaboratory AdvancedTechnologyR&DCenter
1TechnologyCourt MitsubishiElectricCorporation
Pullenvale,QLD4069,Australia 8-1-1Tsukaguchi-honmachi,Amagasaki
[email protected] Hyogo661-8661,Japan
[email protected]
SatoshiSuzuki
AssistantProfessor,Ph.D.
InternationalYoungResearchers
EmpowermentCenter
ShinshuUniversity
3-15-1Tokida,Ueda
Nagano386-8567,Japan
[email protected]
ISBN978-4-431-53855-4 e-ISBN978-4-431-53856-1
DOI10.1007/978-4-431-53856-1
SpringerTokyoDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2010931387
(cid:2)c Springer2010
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.Allrightsarereserved,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialis
concerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting,
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imply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevantprotective
lawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Frontcover:The6-rotorMAVwhichChibauniversityMAVgroupdevelopedisshownhereanditssize
isonemeterdiameter, 1kgforweight,1.5kgforpayloadand20minutesforflyingtime.Inorderto
achieveafullyautonomousflightcontrol,theoriginalautopilotunithasbeenimplementedonthisMAV
andthemodelbasedcontrollerhasbeenalsoinstalled.ThisMAVwillbeusedforindustrialapplications.
Printedonacid-freepaper
SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com)

Preface
The advance in robotics has boosted the application of autonomous vehicles to
perform tedious and risky tasks or to be cost-effective substitutes for their hu-
man counterparts. Based on their working environment, a rough classification of
the autonomous vehicles would include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), un-
manned ground vehicles (UGVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and
autonomoussurface vehicles (ASVs). UAVs, UGVs, AUVs, and ASVs are called
UVs (unmanned vehicles) nowadays. In recent decades, the development of un-
manned autonomous vehicles have been of great interest, and different kinds of
autonomousvehicleshavebeenstudiedanddevelopedallovertheworld.Inpartic-
ular, UAVs have many applicationsin emergencysituations; humansoftencannot
comeclosetoadangerousnaturaldisastersuchasanearthquake,aflood,anactive
volcano, or a nuclear disaster. Since the development of the first UAVs, research
effortshavebeenfocusedonmilitaryapplications.Recently,however,demandhas
arisenforUAVssuchasaero-robotsandflyingrobotsthatcanbeusedinemergency
situationsandinindustrialapplications.AmongthewidevarietyofUAVsthathave
been developed, small-scale HUAVs (helicopter-based UAVs) have the ability to
take off and land vertically as well as the ability to cruise in flight, but their most
importantcapabilityishovering.Hoveringatapointenablesustomakemoreeffec-
tiveobservationsofatarget.Furthermore,small-scaleHUAVsoffertheadvantages
oflowcostandeasyoperation.
The Chiba University UAV group started research of autonomous control in
1998, advanced joint research with Hirobo, Ltd. in 2001, and created a fully au-
tonomous control helicopter for a small-scale helicopter for hobbyists. There is
a power-line monitoring application of UAV called SKY SURVEYOR. Once it
catches power line, regardless of the vibration of the helicopter, with various on-
board cameras with a gross load of 48 kg for a cruising time of 1 hour, catching
of the power line can be continued. In addition, it has a payload of about 20 kg.
Although several small UAVs are helicopters — Sky Focus-SF40 (18 kg), SST-
eagle2-EX(7kg),Shuttle-SCEADU-Evolution(5kg),andanelectricmotor-based
Lepton (2 kg) for hobbyists, with gross loads of 2–18 kg — fully autonomous
control of these vehicles is already possible. Cruising time, depending on the
helicopter’s class, is about 10–20 min, with payloads of about 800 g – 7 kg.
Thesedevicesarewhatautomatedthecommercialradio-controlledhelicoptersfor
v
vi Preface
hobbyists, because they can be flown freely by autonomousflight by one person,
arecheapandsimplesystems,andcanapplychemicalsprays,asinorchards,fields,
andsmall-scalegardens.Inthefuturetheycanalsobeusedforaerialphotography,
variouskindsofsurveillance,andrescuesindisasters.
GH Craft and Chiba University are conducting further research and develop-
mentofautonomouscontrolofafour-rotortilt-wingaircraft.ThisQTW(quadtilt
wing)-UAVisabout30kgingrossload;take-offandlandingaredoneinhelicopter
mode;andhigh-speedflightatcruisingspeediscarriedoutinairplanemode.Bell
HelicopterintheUnitedStatescompleteddevelopmentoftheQTR(quadtiltrotor)-
UAV, andits firstflightwas carriedoutin January2006;however,the QTW-UAV
hadnotexistedanywhereintheworlduntilnow,althoughthedesignandtestflight
hadbeenattempted.TheQTW-UAVnowisalreadyflyingunderfullyautonomous
conditions.Moreover,SeikoEpsonandChibaUniversitytackledautonomouscon-
trolofa microflyingrobot,the smallestin the worldat12.3g, with themicroair
vehicle (MAV) advantageof the lightest weight, and have succeeded with perfect
autonomouscontrol inside a room through image-processing from a camera. The
XRBbyHirobo,Ltd.,about170glargerthanthismicroflyingrobot,hasalsosuc-
cessfullydemonstratedautonomouscontrolatChibaUniversity.Flyingfreelywith
autonomouscontrolinsidearoomhasnowbeenmadepossible.
We have also been aggressively developing our own advanced flight con-
trol algorithm by means of a quad-rotor MAV provided by a German company
(Ascending Technologies GmbH) as a helicopter for hobbyists. We have chosen
this platform because it offersgood performancein terms of weight and payload.
TheoriginalX-3D-BLkitconsistsofasolidairframe,brushlessmotorsandassoci-
atedmotordrivers,anX-basewhichisanelectroniccardthatdecodesthereceiver
outputsandsendscommandstomotors,andanX-3Dboardthatincorporatesthree
gyroscopesforstabilization.Thetotalweightoftheoriginalplatformisabout400g
includingbatteries,andithasapayloadofabout200g.Theflighttimeisupto20
min without a payload and about 10 min with a payload of 200 g. The X-3D-BL
helicopter can fly at a high speed approaching 8 m/s. These good characteristics
areduetoitspowerfulbrushlessmotorsthatcanrotateatveryhighspeed.Further-
more,thepropellersaredirectlymountedonthemotorswithoutusingmechanical
gears, thereby reducing vibration and noise. Also, our original 6-rotor MAVs for
industrial applications such as chemical spraying have been developed, and their
fullyautonomousflighthasalreadybeensuccessful.
For industrial applications, a power-line monitoring helicopter called SKY
SURVEYORhasbeendeveloped.Aroughdivisionofthesystemconfigurationof
SKY SURVEYOR consists of a ground station and an autonomousUAV. Various
apparatuses carry out an autonomouscontrol system of a sensor and an inclusion
computer,andpower-linemonitoringdevicesarecarriedinthebodyofthevehicle.
The sensors for autonomouscontrol are a GPS receiver, an attitude sensor, and a
compass, which comprise the autonomouscontrol system of the model base. The
flight of the compoundinertial navigationof GPS/INS or a 3D stereo-visionbase
isalsopossibleifneeded.Theprogramflightiscarriedoutwiththegroundstation
or the embedded computer system by an orbital plan for operation surveillance,
Preface vii
if needed. For attitude control, an operator performs only position control of the
helicopterwithautonomouscontrol,andso-calledoperator-assistedflightcanalso
be performed. In addition, although a power-line surveillance image is recorded
by the video cameraof the UAV loadingin automaticcapturemode andis simul-
taneously transmitted to the ground station, an operator can also perform posture
controlofthepower-linemonitoringcameraandzoomingatanytime.
We have been studying UAVs and MAVs and carrying out research more
than 10 years, since 1998, and we have created many technologies by way of
experimentalworkandtheoreticalworkonfullyautonomousflightcontrolsystems.
Dr.FaridKendoulworked2yearsinmylaboratoryasapost-doctoralresearchfel-
lowoftheJapanSocietyforthePromotionofScience(JSPSpost-doctoralfellow),
fromOctober2007toOctober2009.HecontributedgreatlytotheprogressinMAV
research.These factorsare the reason, the motivation,and the backgroundfor the
publication of this book. Also, seven of my graduate students completed Ph.D.
degrees in the UAV and MAV field during the past 10 years. They are Dr. Jinok
Shin,Dr.DaigoFujiwara,Dr.KensakuHazawa,Dr.ZhenyoYu,Dr.SatoshiSuzuki,
Dr.WeiWang,andDr.DasukeNakazawa.Thelastthreeindividuals—Dr.Suzuki,
Dr. Wang, and Dr. Nakazawa — along with Dr. Kendoul are the authors of this
book.
The book is suitable for graduate students whose research interests are in the
area of UAVs and MAVs, and for scientists and engineers. The main objective of
thisbookistopresentanddescribesystematically,stepbystep,thecurrentresearch
anddevelopmentin,smallorminiatureunmannedaerialvehiclesandmicroaerial
vehicles, mainly rotary wing vehicles, discussing integrated prototypesdeveloped
withinroboticsandthesystemscontrolresearchlaboratory(NonamiLaboratory)at
Chiba University. In particular, this book may provide a comprehensiveoverview
forbeginningreadersinthefield.Allchaptersincludedemonstrationvideos,which
helpthereaderstounderstandthecontentofachapterandtovisualizeperformance
viavideo.Thebookisdividedintothreeparts.PartIis“ModelingandControlof
SmallandMiniRotorcraftUAVs”;PartIIis“AdvancedFlightControlSystemsfor
RotorcraftUAVs and MAVs”; and Part III is “Guidance and Navigationof Short-
RangeUAVs.”
RoboticsandSystemsControlLaboratory KenzoNonami,Professor
ChibaUniversity

Acknowledgments
FirstIwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetothecontributorsofsomeofthechapters
of thisbook.Mr. Daisuke Iwakura,who is anexcellentmaster’sdegreestudentin
the MAVs researcharea, in particular,contributedChapter 13.Also, I expressmy
appreciationtoMr.ShyarilAzradandMs.DwiPebriantifortheircontributionson
vision-basedflightcontrol.TheyarePh.D.studentsinMAVresearchinmylabora-
tory.Dr.JinokShin,Dr.DaigoFujiwara,Dr.KensakuHazawa,andDr.ZhenyoYu
madealargecontributioninUAVresearch,whichisincludedinthisbook.Ialsoap-
preciatethecontributionsofDr.Shin,Dr.Fujiwara,Dr.Hazawa,andDr.Yu.During
thepast10years,weatChibaUniversityhavebeenengagedinjointresearchwith
Hirobo Co., Ltd., on unmanned fully autonomous helicopters; with Seiko Epson
on autonomousmicro flyingrobots;andwith GH Crafton QTW-UAV.I thankall
concernedfortheircooperationandsupportincarryingoutthejointresearch.Iam
especiallygratefultoHiroboforprovidingmylaboratorywithtechnicalsupportfor
10years.IappreciatetheteamworkintheUAVgroup.Iwillalwaysrememberour
field experiments and the support of each member. I thank you all for your help
andsupport.Lastly,Iwouldliketothankmyfamilyfortheirconstantsupportand
encouragement,forwhichIowealottomywife.
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