A Precision Drone Landing System using Visual and IR Fiducial Markers and a Multi-Payload Camera

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Hauptverfasser: Springer, Joshua, Guðmundsson, Gylfi Þór, Kyas, Marcel
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Springer, Joshua
Guðmundsson, Gylfi Þór
Kyas, Marcel
author_facet Springer, Joshua
Guðmundsson, Gylfi Þór
Kyas, Marcel
contents We propose a method for autonomous precision drone landing with fiducial markers and a gimbal-mounted, multi-payload camera with wide-angle, zoom, and IR sensors. The method has minimal data requirements; it depends primarily on the direction from the drone to the landing pad, enabling it to switch dynamically between the camera's different sensors and zoom factors, and minimizing auxiliary sensor requirements. It eliminates the need for data such as altitude above ground level, straight-line distance to the landing pad, fiducial marker size, and 6 DoF marker pose (of which the orientation is problematic). We leverage the zoom and wide-angle cameras, as well as visual April Tag fiducial markers to conduct successful precision landings from much longer distances than in previous work (168m horizontal distance, 102m altitude). We use two types of April Tags in the IR spectrum - active and passive - for precision landing both at daytime and nighttime, instead of simple IR beacons used in most previous work. The active IR landing pad is heated; the novel, passive one is unpowered, at ambient temperature, and depends on its high reflectivity and an IR differential between the ground and the sky. Finally, we propose a high-level control policy to manage initial search for the landing pad and subsequent searches if it is lost - not addressed in previous work. The method demonstrates successful landings with the landing skids at least touching the landing pad, achieving an average error of 0.19m. It also demonstrates successful recovery and landing when the landing pad is temporarily obscured.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_03806
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Precision Drone Landing System using Visual and IR Fiducial Markers and a Multi-Payload Camera
Springer, Joshua
Guðmundsson, Gylfi Þór
Kyas, Marcel
Robotics
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
We propose a method for autonomous precision drone landing with fiducial markers and a gimbal-mounted, multi-payload camera with wide-angle, zoom, and IR sensors. The method has minimal data requirements; it depends primarily on the direction from the drone to the landing pad, enabling it to switch dynamically between the camera's different sensors and zoom factors, and minimizing auxiliary sensor requirements. It eliminates the need for data such as altitude above ground level, straight-line distance to the landing pad, fiducial marker size, and 6 DoF marker pose (of which the orientation is problematic). We leverage the zoom and wide-angle cameras, as well as visual April Tag fiducial markers to conduct successful precision landings from much longer distances than in previous work (168m horizontal distance, 102m altitude). We use two types of April Tags in the IR spectrum - active and passive - for precision landing both at daytime and nighttime, instead of simple IR beacons used in most previous work. The active IR landing pad is heated; the novel, passive one is unpowered, at ambient temperature, and depends on its high reflectivity and an IR differential between the ground and the sky. Finally, we propose a high-level control policy to manage initial search for the landing pad and subsequent searches if it is lost - not addressed in previous work. The method demonstrates successful landings with the landing skids at least touching the landing pad, achieving an average error of 0.19m. It also demonstrates successful recovery and landing when the landing pad is temporarily obscured.
title A Precision Drone Landing System using Visual and IR Fiducial Markers and a Multi-Payload Camera
topic Robotics
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.03806