Development of Targeting UAVs Using Electric Helicopters and Yamaha RMAX
Abstract
There are many situations that airborne platforms need to point a camera or a laser source to a ground target, either stationary or moving. For aerial still-imaging or live-video relaying, the camera should be held consistently pointing to the target regardless of the host vehicle's motion. For target designation, the rolling of the beam is less critical, but the laser beam should be on the target without much deviation over time. Typically, high-precision targeting or image stabilization is achieved by an add-on gimbal system. Secondary actuators cancel out the vehicle's translation and rotation sensed by accelerometers and gyros in the gimbal system. For fixed-wings, due to the nonzero speed of the host vehicle during the flight, maintaining a good lock is usually very difficult or impossible without a help of such devices. For rotary-wing aircraft, however, the pointing task is somewhat achievable if the vehicle is allowed to hover. However, it requires the vehicle to remain stationary with great accuracy, which is not always possible especially when the vehicle is exposed to a significant threat. Even if the vehicle is allowed to do so, it poses a heavy burden on the pilot.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 17, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA482699
Entities
People
- David H. Shim
- Hoam Chung
- S. Shankar Sastry
Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley