This was an interesting project that eventually evolved into my Masters project at the University of Louisville. It was based upon previous work (sponsored by Dr. Adrian Lauf) on a system for autonomous flight of lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Research and development of the system was divided into multiple components with the eventual goal of providing disaster relief teams a group/swarm of UAVs to assist in search and rescue efforts. The UAVs/drones relay back to the ground station during flight captured images and streaming video, providing critical analysis of target areas that may otherwise be inaccessible to human teams.
Abstract
A comprehensive software-based approach to the simulation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in co-operative flight, without the need for physical hardware connections. Software in the loop (SILS) simulation allows for the development and testing of co-operative flight patterns without the risk associated with hardware-based testing. This framework incorporates simulation components from the ArduPilot autopilot module and JSBSim flight dynamics model to create a virtual flight environment.
