Experimental validation of a drogue estimation algorithm for autonomous aerial refueling

Autonomous docking for airborne energy transfer is an important unmanned aerial vehicle capability that has yet to be accomplished. The implications of this technology are far reaching because vehicle endurance can be significantly extended without requiring additional onboard energy storage or envi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) pp. 5318 - 5323
Main Authors Wilson, Daniel B., Goktogan, Ali H., Sukkarieh, Salah
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.05.2015
Subjects
Accuracy
Aerodynamics
Aircraft
Aircraft navigation
Atmospheric modeling
Cameras
Visualization
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Summary:Autonomous docking for airborne energy transfer is an important unmanned aerial vehicle capability that has yet to be accomplished. The implications of this technology are far reaching because vehicle endurance can be significantly extended without requiring additional onboard energy storage or environmental energy collection. A major barrier to docking with a drogue is reliable and accurate knowledge of the drogue's state, relative to the aircraft that is performing the manoeuvre. We address this by propagating a derived cable-drogue dynamic model using onboard sensor measurements, then correcting the state and aerodynamic coefficients with air-to-air visual observations. The approach is verified through a series of close formation flights with a marker based infra-red vision system. These flights represent significant progress toward an autonomous docking demonstration.
ISSN:1050-4729
2577-087X
DOI:10.1109/ICRA.2015.7139941