Development of Unmanned Aircraft-based Autonomous Airborne Target Tracking and Pursuit

Abstract

The rise of unmanned aircraft over the past few decades has greatly increased the operational capabilities of both civilian and military operators; however, the systems require a substantial operational crew. In time-critical scenarios such as search and rescue, it is of paramount importance to have a fast, efficient platform that can autonomously navigate, detect objects, and relay information to human personnel. The proposed research is focused on the development of autonomous target (i.e. wild re, lost hiker, rogue aircraft, etc.) identification, localization, and trajectory generation techniques. The approach will be implemented on a physical quadcopter and evaluated through a series of real-world scenarios in Kansas City, MO and Camp Roberts, CA. The resulting research will enable the autonomous situational awareness and dramatically increase the usable applications for small unmanned aircraft.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 17, 2017
Source ID
N002441720005

Entities

People

  • Travis Fields

Organizations

  • United States Navy
  • University of Missouri System

Tags

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Sensor Fusion and Tracking Systems.
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs