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Unmanned aerial
systems, what they are
and what is available?
Professor Sandor M Veres
University of Sheffield
Contents
• UASs: What are they?
• System Classifications
• Why now?- technological breakthroughs
• What to look for in the (near) future
24/05/2017 © The University of Sheffield
UAS questions
• What are the UAS classifications ?
• What are the technical categories ?
• What sensors do UAS use ?
• What do UAS autopilots ?
• What kind of safety features do we need ?
• What kind of artificial intelligence capabilities
should we have ?
24/05/2017 © The University of Sheffield
UAS Classifications
Civil Aviation Authority Publication CAP 722, 10 Aug 2012
Relevant other authorities:
1. European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment
2. Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (USA)
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UAS technical categories
Fixed wing aircrafts:
Flying wings
• Long flights possible
(more than an hour)
• Large loads possible
Traditional UAS
• Used for large areas
• Remote piloting difficult at
large distances
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Rotary wing aircraft
• Lot of power needed
• Hovers, safe
• Short flights
• Autopilot needed
• Larger frames have
high noise levels
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The sensors they use
• 3D Gyroscope,
accelerometer ,
magnetometer (IMU)
• Altitude sensors
• Airflow sensors(?)
• GPS
• Ultrasonic sensors
• Computer vision
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Safety features
• Slow speed at all times
• Propeller cut off
• Auto landing
• Power monitoring
• Autopilot
• Perception of
environment
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Artificial intelligence capabilities
• Auto-landing and take off
• Waypoint following
autonomously with picture
taking
• Robustness to weather –
wind, rain, temperatures
• Adaptivity and mission
capability
• 3D modelling of tarrain
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Why now?
• Technological breakthroughs in
cheap sensing and imaging
• Sufficiently small computers for
onboard computing – integrated
sensing
• Advances adaptive control
methods
• Advances in AI for autonomous
task and mission execution
• Lower price of lightweight
materials
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Single board integration:
• GPS
• 3D Accelerometer
• 3D Gyroscope
• 3D magnetometer
• Pressure sensor
• Powerful GPU for
vision
• Powerful CPU for
autonomous features
What to look for as a user?
• Right choice of propulsion and size/type of
plane
• Autonomous take off and landing
• Can operate in rain and wind
• High resolution cameras in combination with
automated 3D environmental mapping
• Autonomous mission features
• Ease of system reconfiguration
• Level of safety features
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Thanks.
Any questions?
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My background
• 1980 : applied maths and
physics
• 1981-1988: industrial
dynamical modelling and
process control
• 1988-1999 – Electronics
and embedded systems
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• 1998-2003: vibration
control
• 2004-2007: autonomous
formation flying
•
2008- : intelligent
autonomous vehicles