A Novel Framework for Autonomous Landing of the Quadrotor on the Moving Platform by Onboard Vision Sensors

Abstract

This paper addresses the autonomous landing of a quadrotor equipped with sensors and an on-board computer on a moving platform. An autonomous landing framework is proposed, including modules of target detection, state estimation, trajectory planning and tracking control. Specifically, the target detection module utilizes an on-board camera to recognize targets with Apriltags, owing to the high efficiency and accuracy. The state estimation module combines the detected target information and the measurements from the on-board sensors to estimate the absolute motion state of the quadrotor and the platform at the current moment, but also predicts the platform state at the target moment. A dynamically feasible and non-conservative trajectory is generated by the trajectory planning module based on the state estimation. According to the results of the trajectory planning and the state estimation modules, the tracking control module issues control commands to make the quadrotor track the trajectory efficiently. Simulation tests are conducted to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed framework.