Development of an indoor guidance system for unmanned aerial vehicles with power industry applications

• Published in: IET radar, sonar & navigation Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 212 - 218
• Main Authors: Wu, Kevin J, Gregory, Thomas Stan, Moore, Julian, Hooper, Bryan, Lewis, Dexter, Tse, Zion Tsz Ho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Institution of Engineering and Technology 01.01.2017
• Subjects: aircraft communication; autonomous aerial vehicles; custom sensing array; custom sensing technologies; Detection; Devices; featuring ultrasonic transceivers; flight duration; global positioning system; indoor guidance system; indoor navigation system; Line of sight; mobile robots; Navigation; Navigation systems; pilot navigation; Pilots; Position (location); power industry applications; Research Article; telerobotics; UAV systems; Unmanned aerial vehicles; unmanned aerial vehicles; telerobotics; UAV systems; power industry applications; mobile robots; aircraft communication; global positioning system; indoor navigation system; featuring ultrasonic transceivers; custom sensing technologies; indoor guidance system; autonomous aerial vehicles; flight duration; pilot navigation; custom sensing array
• ISSN: 1751-8784; 1751-8792; 1751-8792
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-rsn.2016.0232

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems are experiencing a period of rapid growth as potential for industrial and commercial applications are arising. Conventional UAV technologies focus on outdoor large area navigation, utilising global positioning system, which has proven to be less effective in enclosed environments. The authors aim to develop an indoor navigation system, specifically for industrial applications which require custom sensing technologies to aid in pilot navigation. A custom sensing array, featuring ultrasonic transceivers, was developed to localise drone position in an enclosed known environment and provide pilot feedback. Six subjects were recruited to pilot the drone with and without the navigation system in an enclosed room to a pre-set target at a known location in two cases: (i) with a line of sight, and (ii) without line of sight. Flight duration, number of collisions, and distance from target were recorded and used to quantify performance. Using the navigation system, subjects were able to reduce their flight duration on average by 19.7% during an obstructed line of sight, illustrating the increased ability and confidence in piloting the drone using the navigation system. This study serves to prove the potential of this device as an essential tool for indoor drone localisation and commercial inspections.