This thesis work was undertaken to develop a new high level command for an unmanned aerial vehicle. The command is assumed to make the UAV follow a reference position that is placed on a certain distance to an object. At the same time the UAV is assumed to move more smoothly than the reference position and the UAV is allowed to follow the reference position with margin. The problem was solved with an automatic control system that takes the reference position as input signal and has a fictitious position as output signal. The fictitious position moves smoothly inside the margin and irregular behavior of the reference position is smoothed out by the automatic control system. The fictitious position is affected by strong feedback outside the margin and weak feedback inside the margin. This makes the fictitious position to stay inside the margin and moves smoothly inside the margin. The UAV follows the fictitious position instead of the reference position. In this way the UAV holds a certain distance to an object and at the same time moves smoother than the object.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in improving the performance of unmanned air vehicles in terms of aerodynamic performance, endurance, autonomy, and the capability of on-board sensor packages. UAVs are now a vital part of both military actions and scientific research efforts. One of the newest classes of UAV is the high altitude long endurance or HALE UAV. This thesis considers the high-level control problem for a unique HALE mission involving cooperative solar powered UAVs. Specifically addressed is energy efficient path planning for vehicles that physically link together in flight to form a larger, more energy efficient HALE vehicle. Energy efficient docking is developed for the case of multiple vehicles at high altitude with negligible wind. The analysis considers a vehicle governed by a kinematic motion model with bounded turn rate in planar constant altitude flight. Docking is demonstrated using a platform-in-the-loop simulator which was developed to allow virtual networked vehicles to perform decentralized path planning and estimation of all vehicle states. Vehicle behavior is governed by a status which is commanded by a master computer and communication between vehicles is intermittent depending on each vehicle's assessment of situational awareness. Docking results in a larger vehicle that consumes energy at 21% of the rate of an individual vehicle and increases vehicle range by a factor of three without considering solar recharging. / Master of Science

在這個研究中，我們嘗試將節奏的要素（速度、誇張度與時間調配）參數化，以產生能控制特定風格之人物角色的動畫。角色動作風格化的生成及控制是藉由一個層級式的動畫控制系統RhyCAP (Rhythmic Character Animation Playacting system), 透過一個節奏動作控制（Rhythmic Motion Control, RMC) 的方法來實現。RMC是基於傳統動畫的原則，設計參數化的動作指令，來產生生動並具有說服力的角色動作。此外，RMC也提供了運動行為的模型來控制角色動畫的演出。藉由RhyCAP系統所提供的高階控制介面，即使是沒有經過專業傳統動畫技巧訓練的使用者，也能夠創作出戲劇性的中國舞獅動畫。 / In this research, we attempt to parameterize the rhythmic factors (tempo, exaggeration and timing) into the generation of controllable stylistic character animation. The stylized character motions are generated by a hierarchical animation control system, RhyCAP (Rhythmic Character Animation Playacting system) and realized through an RMC (Rhythmic Motion Control) scheme. The RMC scheme can generate convincible and expressive character motions from versatile action commands with the rhythmic parameters defined according to the principles of traditional animation. Besides, RMC also provide controllable behavior models to enact the characters. By using the high-level control interface of the RhyCAP system, the user is able to create a dramatic Chinese Lion Dance animation intuitively even though he may not be professionally trained with traditional animation skills.

This thesis describes design of a cheap robot. It includes implementation of firmware of low level control unit based on microcontroller PIC. The firmware drives motors, gains sensors data and communicates with the high level control unit. Furthermore the thesis presents realisation of connection to the robotic operation system ROS and its standard structures allowing usage of existing packages for the robot teleoperation and displaying sensor data on the remote computer. The thesis finally reports experiments with the robot. The constructed prototype is the model of the robotic lawn mower, however the whole solution has universal usage.