Autopilot design for control of Rotorcraft Micro Aerial Vehicles (RMAVs) swarm

Abstract

The vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Rotorcraft Micro Aerial Vehicles (RMAVs) are playing more and more important roles in military and civil applications since they can significantly reduce the risk to human life and minimize economic damage. Many RMAVs working together as a swarm can solve the problem of limits in payload, vision range and data processing ability. They are of great development for completing complex missions in some serious emergency situations. These problems of autonomous control, navigation and collision avoidance are critical to the successful deployment of RMAVs swarm. A type of small size autopilot system comprising dual DSP microprocessor, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), ultrasonic rangefinders, digital camera, and Wi-Fi module that can easily installed in RMAV has been designed. A RMAVs Swarm Test Platform significantly safe and efficient is established.