Sensor and navigation system integration for autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle applications

In this paper, the authors present the development of an autonomous mobile platform designed to test the performance of optical and electronic sensors that will be installed in an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle. This system allows the analysis of the necessary sensors and communications between the base station and the mobile vehicle without the risks involved in a real flying helicopter. The authors describe all the sensors and navigation systems that are needed in an autonomous helicopter, the way in which they have been implemented in the platform, the acquisition through a control architecture based on a microcontroller that sends all information to a remote station on the ground and the results obtained in the performed tests.