[pt] Redes de sensores sem fio (WSN) são uma importante alternativa na coleta de dados em diversas situações, tais como no monitoramento de grandes áreas ou áreas que apresentem perigo. A recuperação de dados de WSNs é uma importante atividade que pode obter melhores resultados com o uso de veículos aéreos não tripulados (UAV) como, por exemplo, em relação ao aumento da quantidade de dados coletados e diminuição do tempo entre a coleta dos dados e seu uso. Em particular, áreas tomadas por desastres podem ficar sem recursos de comunicação e com grande risco residual para humanos, momento no qual uma WSN pode ser rapidamente lançada por via aérea e atuar na coleta de dados relevantes até que medidas pertinentes e dedicadas possam ser colocadas em ação. Estudos apresentam abordagens no uso de UAVs para coleta dos dados de WSN, focando principalmente na otimização do caminho a ser percorrido por um único UAV e se baseando em uma comunicação de longo alcance sempre disponível, não explorando a possibilidade da utilização de diversos UAVs ou à limitação do alcance da comunicação. Neste trabalho apresentamos o DADCA, uma abordagem distribuída escalável capaz de coordenadar grupos de UAVs na coleta de dados de WSN sob restrições de alcance de comunicação, sem fazer uso de técnicas de otimização. Resultados indicam que a quantidade de dados coletados pelo DADCA é semelhante ou superior, em até 1 porcento, a abordagens de otimização de caminhos percorridos por UAVs. O atraso no recebimento de mensagens de sensores é até 46 porcento menor do que outras abordagens e o processamento necessário a bordo de UAVs é no mínimo menor do que 75 porcento do que aqueles que utilizam algoritmos baseados em otimização. Os resultados apresentados indicam que o DADCA é capaz de igualar e até superar outras abordagens apresentadas, agregando vantagens de uma abordagem distribuída. / [en] Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are an important means of collecting data in a variety of situations, such as monitoring large or hazardous areas. The retrieval of WSN data can yield better results with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for example, concerning the increase in the amount of collected data and decrease in the time between the collection and use of the data. In particular, disaster areas may be left without communication resources and with great residual risk to humans, at which point a WSN can be quickly launched by air to collect relevant data until other measures can be put in place. Some studies present approaches to the use of UAVs for the collection of WSN data, focusing mainly on optimizing the path to be covered by a single UAV and relying on long-range communication that is always available; these studies do not explore the possibility of using several UAVs or the limitations on the range of communication. This work describes DADCA, a distributed scalable approach capable of coordinating groups of UAVs in WSN data collection with restricted communication range and without the use of optimization techniques. The results show that the amount of data collected by DADCA is similar or superior, by up to 1 percent, to path optimization approaches. In the proposed approach, the delay in receiving sensor messages is up to 46 percent shorter than in other approaches, and the required processing onboard UAVs can reach less than 75 percent of those using optimization-based algorithms. The results indicate that the DADCA can match and even surpass other approaches presented, while also adding the advantages of a distributed approach.

Cooperative control of autonomous multi-agent systems is a research areawhich is getting significant attention in recent years. Multi-agent systemsallow for a broad spectrum of applications and cooperation can increasetheir flexibility, efficiency and robustness to changes in external constraintsand disturbances. Focusing on autonomous vehicles, examples of possibleapplications of cooperative multi-agent systems include search and rescuemissions, autonomous delivery and performing of emergency landings.The purpose of the thesis is to develop and implement a cooperativerendezvous algorithm based on model predictive control and apply it to theproblem of autonomous landing in an indoor setting. The agents involved in themaneuver are a quadcopter and a ground carrier. The two agents cooperativelynegotiate on the optimal location for the touchdown taking also into accountrelevant spatial constraints and, if necessary, update that location, also referredto as rendezvous point, in real-time throughout the maneuver.The algorithm is first tested and validated in a simulated environment andfinally on the physical system during real-time operations.Additional scenarios are tested in the simulated environment in order tofurther inspect the potential capabilities of the developed algorithm. Thoseadditional simulations analyse how the algorithm behaves when a constantlateral wind influences the quadcopter; when the controllers operate at areduced frequency; and when the quadcopter is affected by an external Gaussiandisturbance.The developed algorithm proved to be suitable for the purpose, allowingthe agents to perform the desired maneuver in a relatively short time and witha high degree of precision. / Kooperativ reglering av autonoma fleragentsystem är ett forskningsområdesom har fått stor uppmärksamhet de senaste åren. Fleragentsystem möjliggörett brett spektrum av applikationer samtidigt som kooperation kan öka derasflexibilitet, effektivitet och robusthet mot förändringar i yttre begränsningar ochstörningar. Med fokus på autonoma fordon, exempel på möjliga tillämpningarav kooperativa fleragentsystem inkluderar sök- och räddningsuppdrag, autonomleverans och utförande av nödlandningar.Syftet med rapporten är att utveckla och implementera en kooperativrendezvous -algoritm baserad på modellprediktiv reglerteknik samt att tillämpaden för att utföra en inomhus autonom landning. I vår uppställning beståragenterna i manövern av en quadcopter och en markbärare. De två agenternaförhandlar samarbetsvilligt om den optimala platsen för landning samtidigtsom de beaktar relevanta rumsliga begränsningar och uppdaterar vid behovden platsen i realtid under hela manövern.Algoritmen testas och valideras först i en simulerad miljö och slutligen pådet fysiska systemet under en realtidsmiljö.Ytterligare scenarier testas i den simulerade miljön för att bortre inspekterapotentialen hos den utvecklade algoritmen. Dessa extra simuleringar illustrerarhur algoritmen beter sig när en konstant sidovind påverkar quadcoptern; närstyrenheterna arbetar med reducerad frekvens; och när quadcoptern påverkasav en yttre Gaussisk störning.Den utvecklade algoritmen visade sig vara lämplig för ändamålet, vilketgjorde att agenterna kunde utföra önskad manöver på relativt kort tid och medhög precision.

In this thesis, the main focus is to formulate and test a suitable model forexogenous fault detection in swarms containing unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs), which are aerial autonomous systems. FOI Swedish DefenseResearch Agency provided the thesis project and research question. Inspiredby previous work, the implementation use behavioral feature vectors (BFVs)to simulate the movements of the UAVs and to identify anomalies in theirbehaviors. The chosen algorithm for fault detection is the density-based cluster analysismethod known as the Local Outlier Factor (LOF). This method is built on thek-Nearest Neighbor(kNN) algorithm and employs densities to detect outliers.In this thesis, it is implemented to detect faulty agents within the swarm basedon their behavior. A confusion matrix and some associated equations are usedto evaluate the accuracy of the method. Six features are selected for examination in the LOF algorithm. The firsttwo features assess the number of neighbors in a circle around the agent,while the others consider traversed distance, height, velocity, and rotation.Three different fault types are implemented and induced in one of the agentswithin the swarm. The first two faults are motor failures, and the last oneis a sensor failure. The algorithm is successfully implemented, and theevaluation of the faults is conducted using three different metrics. Several setsof experiments are performed to assess the optimal value for the LOF thresholdand to understand the model’s performance. The thesis work results in a strongLOF value which yields an acceptable F1 score, signifying the accuracy of theimplementation is at a satisfactory level. / I denna uppsats är huvudfokuset att formulera och testa en lämplig modellför detektion av exogena fel i svärmar som innehåller obemannade flygfordon(UAV:er), vilka utgör autonoma luftburna system. Examensarbetet ochforskningsfrågan tillhandahölls av FOI, Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut.Inspirerad av tidigare arbete används beteendemässiga egenskapsvektorer(BFV:er) för att simulera rörelserna hos UAV:erna och för att identifieraavvikelser i deras beteenden. Den valda algoritmen för felavkänning är en densitetsbaserad klusterana-lysmetod som kallas Local Outlier Factor (LOF). Denna metod byggerpå k-Nearest Neighbor-algoritmen och använder densiteter för att upptäckaavvikande datapunkter. I denna uppsats implementeras den för att detekterafelaktiga agenter inom svärmen baserat på deras beteende. En förväxlings-matris(Confusion Matrix) och dess tillhörande ekvationer används för attutvärdera metodens noggrannhet. Sex egenskaper valdes för undersökning i LOF-algoritmen. De första tvåegenskaperna bedömer antalet grannar i en cirkel runt agenter, medande andra beaktar avstånd, höjd, hastighet och rotation. Tre olika feltyperimplementeras och framkallas hos en av agenterna inom svärmen. De förstatvå felen är motorfel, och det sista är ett sensorfel. Algoritmen implementerasframgångsrikt och utvärderingen av felen genomförs med hjälp av treolika mått. Ett antal uppsättningar av experiment utförs för att hitta detoptimala värdet för LOF-gränsen och för att förstå modellens prestanda.Examensarbetet resultat är ett optimalt LOF-värde som genererar ettacceptabelt F1-score, vilket innebär att noggrannheten för implementationennår en tillfredsställande nivå.

[ES] En los últimos años la popularidad de los quadrotors se ha visto notablemente incrementada debido a la gran variedad de aplicaciones civiles que se encuentran en auge actualmente. Entre los principales nichos de mercado, cabe destacar el elevado potencial en cartografía, agricultura, prevención de incendios, y en general, todas aquellas actividades donde el uso de estos dispositivos pueda suponer una mejora del rendimiento, seguridad del proceso y reducción de costes. En este aspecto, se espera que el uso de los quadrotors se vea incrementado considerablemente en los próximos años. Dicho incremento de popularidad ha hecho que parte de la comunidad científica ponga el foco de atención en ellos para resolver los problemas que presentan actualmente. No obstante, aunque se ha avanzado mucho en los últimos años, existen en la actualidad líneas de investigación y desarrollo encaminadas a la mejora de aspectos importantes tales como la autonomía, la robustez y fiabilidad que permita tanto aumentar la eficiencia energética como incrementar la seguridad ante cualquier posible escenario. El objetivo de la presente tesis es contribuir al desarrollo de estrategias de control robustas para hacer frente a incertidumbres en el modelo, no linealidades, perturbaciones externas y retardos que puedan afectar al sistema a controlar. Este trabajo se fundamenta en la obtención de una estrategia de control basada en estimaciones de perturbaciones, con un ajuste sencillo y desacoplado del seguimiento de la referencia y rechazo de perturbaciones. A partir las estrategias de control desarrolladas, se presentan además diferentes extensiones que permiten mejorar la robustez del vehículo. La construcción de un observador de la pérdida de eficiencia de los motores, que permita detectar cuando se produce un fallo crítico y aterrizar el vehículo de forma segura. Conjuntamente, se desarrolla un algoritmo óptimo que permite estabilizar los diferentes lazos de control en el caso que saturen las acciones de control de los motores que no corresponden explícitamente a las salidas de los lazos de control internos. Debido al extendido uso del controlador PID, se obtiene un equivalente entre la estrategia propuesta y los parámetros de un PID de dos grados de libertad, generalizándose para plantas de primer y segundo orden con retardos. Además, para el caso de retardos variables aleatorios en los canales de sensor-controlador y controlador-actuador además de la presencia de perturbaciones, se desarrolla un predictor junto con un observador de perturbaciones para poder controlar dichos sistemas. Todas las estrategias propuestas se han validado de forma satisfactoria en las plataformas experimentales disponibles. Entre otros aspectos, cabe destacar la eficiencia computacional de las leyes de control propuestas, tanto en fase de diseño y ajuste como en la fase de ejecución. / [CA] En els darrers anys la popularitat dels quadrotors s'ha vist notablement incrementada a causa de la gran varietat d'aplicacions civils que es troben actualment en auge. Entre els principals nínxols de mercat, cal destacar l'elevat potencial en cartografia, agricultura, prevenció d'incendis i, en general, totes aquelles activitats on l'ús d'aquests dispositius supose una millora del rendiment, la seguretat del procés i la reducció de costos. En aquest aspecte, s'espera que l'ús d'aquestes aeronaus s'incremente considerablement en els pròxims anys. Aquest increment de popularitat ha fet que part de la comunitat científica pose el focus d'atenció per resoldre els problemes que presenten actualment. No obstant això, encara que ha evolucionat molt en els darrers anys, actualment existeixen línies de recerca i desenvolupament encaminades a la millora d'aspectes importants com l'autonomia, la robustesa i fiabilitat que permitisca tant augmentar l'eficiència energètica com incrementar la seguretat davant qualsevol possible escenari. L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és contribuir al desenvolupament d'estratègies de control robustes per fer front a incerteses en el model, no linealitats, pertorbacions externes i retards que puguen afectar el sistema a controlar. Aquest treball es fonamenta en obtindre una estratègia de control basada en estimacions de pertorbacions, amb un ajust senzill i desacoblat del seguiment de la referència i rebuig de pertorbacions. A partir d'aquesta estratègia desenvolupada, es presenten diferents extensions que permeten millorar la robustesa del vehicle. La construcció d'un observador de la pèrdua d'eficiència dels motors, que permeta detectar quan es produeix una fallada crítica i aterrar el vehicle de manera segura. Conjuntament, es desenvolupa un algorisme òptim que permeta estabilitzar els diferents bucles de control en cas que saturen les accions de control dels motors que no corresponen explícitament a les eixides dels bucles de control interns. A causa del ampli ús del controlador PID, s'obté un equivalent entre l'estratègia proposada i els paràmetres d'un PID de dos graus de llibertat, generalitzant-se per a plantes de primer i segon ordre amb retards. A més, per al cas de retards variables aleatoris als canals de sensor-controlador i controlador-actuador a més de la presència de pertorbacions, es desenvolupa un predictor juntament amb un observador de pertorbacions per poder controlar aquests sistemes. Totes les estratègies proposades s'han validat de forma satisfactòria amb les plataformes experimentals disponibles. Entre altres aspectes, cal destacar l'eficiència computacional de les lleis de control proposades, tant en fase de disseny i ajustament com en fase d'execució. / [EN] In recent years the popularity of quadrotors has increased significantly due to the wide variety of civil applications that are currently booming. Among the main market niches, it is worth the high potential in cartography, agriculture, fire prevention and in general, all those activities where the use of these devices can improve performance, process safety and cost reduction. In this regard, the use of these aircraft is expected to increase considerably in the coming years. This increase in popularity has led part of the scientific community to focus on them to solve the problems they have. However, although much progress has been made in recent years, there are currently lines of research and development aimed at improving important aspects such as autonomy, robustness and reliability to increase energy efficiency and safety against any possible scenario. The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the development of robust control strategies to deal with model uncertainties, nonlinearities, external disturbances and delays which may affect the controlled system. This work is based on obtaining a control strategy based on disturbance observers, with a simple and decoupled tuning of reference tracking and disturbance rejection. From this developed strategy, different extensions are developed to improve the robustness of the vehicle: the construction of an observer of the loss of efficiency of the motors, which allows to detect when a critical failure occurs and land the vehicle safely; and the development of an optimal algorithm to stabilize the inner control loops in the case that saturate the control actions of the motors, which do not correspond explicitly to the outputs of the inner control loops. Due to the widespread use of the PID controller, an equivalent tuning is obtained between the proposed strategy and the parameters of a PID of two degrees of freedom, generalizing for first and second order plants with delays. Moreover, for the case of random variable delays in the sensor-controller and controller-actuator channels and the presence of disturbances, a predictor together with a disturbance observer is developed in order to control such systems. All the proposed strategies have been successfully validated on the experimental platforms. Among other aspects, it is worth mentioning the computational efficiency of the proposed control laws, both in the design and adjustment phase and in the execution phase. / Quiero dar gracias a la Universitat Politècnica de València por las ayudas FPI-UPV PAID-01-17 y las ayudas para la movilidad 2019 FPI-UPV sin las cuales no hubiese podido terminar esta tesis. / Balaguer Garín, V. (2024). Diseño de estrategias de control robusto aplicadas a vehículos aéreos no tripulados tipo quadrotor [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/204746

Focusing on the problem of Drone vs. Unknown classification based on radar frequency-amplitude spectra using Deep Learning (DL), especially 1-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks (1D-CNNs), this thesis aims at reducing the current gap in the research related to adequate pre-processing techniques for hardware deployment. The primary challenge tackled in this work is determining a pipeline that facilitates industrial deployment while maintaining high classification metrics. After presenting a comprehensive review of existing research on radar signal classification and the application of DL techniques in this domain, the technical background of signal processing is described to provide a practical scenario where the solutions could be implemented. A thorough description of technical constraints, such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) data type requirements, follows the entire project justifying the necessity of a learning-based pre-processing technique for highly skewed distributions. The results demonstrate that data-adaptive preprocessing eases hardware deployment and maintains high classification metrics, while other techniques contribute to noise and information loss. In conclusion, this thesis contributes to the field of radar frequency-amplitude spectra classification by identifying effective methods to support efficient hardware deployment of 1D-CNNs, without sacrificing performance. This work lays the foundation for future studies in the field of DL for real-world signal processing applications. / Med fokus på problemet med klassificering av drönare kontra okänt baserat på radarfrekvens-amplitudspektra med Deep Learning (DL), särskilt 1-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks (1D-CNNs), syftar denna avhandling till att minska det nuvarande gapet i forskningen relaterad till adekvata förbehandlingstekniker för hårdvarudistribution. Den främsta utmaningen i detta arbete är att fastställa en pipeline som underlättar industriell driftsättning samtidigt som höga klassificeringsmått bibehålls. Efter en omfattande genomgång av befintlig forskning om klassificering av radarsignaler och tillämpningen av DL-tekniker inom detta område, beskrivs den tekniska bakgrunden för signalbehandling för att ge ett praktiskt scenario där lösningarna kan implementeras. En grundlig beskrivning av tekniska begränsningar, såsom krav på datatyper för FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), följer hela projektet och motiverar nödvändigheten av en inlärningsbaserad förbehandlingsteknik för mycket skeva fördelningar. Resultaten visar att dataanpassad förbehandling underlättar hårdvaruimplementering och bibehåller höga klassificeringsmått, medan andra tekniker bidrar till brus och informationsförlust. Sammanfattningsvis bidrar denna avhandling till området klassificering av radarfrekvens-amplitudspektra genom att identifiera effektiva metoder för att stödja effektiv hårdvarudistribution av 1D-CNN, utan att offra prestanda. Detta arbete lägger grunden för framtida studier inom området DL för verkliga signalbehandlingstillämpningar.

As drones are becoming ubiquitous, robust detection and tracking of potentially hostile drones is becoming a necessity. Among the many approaches being investigated in this relatively new research area, one cost effective option is the use of optical cameras equipped with computer vision algorithms. With the use of deep learning, it becomes possible to achieve high accuracy by generalizing from large datasets. However, drones are small and visually similar to birds, which has proven to be a major difficulty for purely vision based systems. This thesis investigates the utility of trajectory information (velocity and acceleration) in addition to temporal appearance features for detection and tracking of drones. While both kinds of information has been used in a variation of ways, work combining the two is largely lacking. Our approach uses background subtraction to generate candidate objects that initialize an LSTM which in turn combines trajectory and appearance information over multiple frames for joint detection and tracking of drones. While our specific implementation fails to outperform a traditional object detector in the form of YOLOv8, this could change with the solution of two problems identified with our approach. First problem being how to effectively incorporate large amounts of background data into the training of our network. Second being how to avoid repeatedly proposing the same non-drone candidates, while still being able to quickly resume tracking of a lost drone. / I takt med att drönare blir allt vanligare stiger kraven på robusta system som kan upptäcka och spåra hotfulla drönare. Bland de flertal tillvägagångssätt som undersöks i detta relativt nya forskningsområde är användandet av optiska kameror utrustade med datorseende-algoritmer ett kostnadseffektivt val. Genom användningen av djupinlärning har det blivit möjligt att uppnå hög pricksäkerhet genom att generalisera utifrån stora dataset. Men, drönare är små och utseendemässigt sett lika fåglar vilket är ett svåröverkomligt problem för system som endast förlitar sig på datorseende. I detta examensarbete undersöks vilken nytta som kan fås om man även tar hänsyn till information om drönarens trajektoria i form av hastighet och acceleration. Trots att både visuellt utseende och trajektoria är välstuderat när det kommer till drönardetektering, saknas det till stor del forskning som behandlar båda tillsammans. Vi använder bakgrundssubtraktion för att generera kandidater som startpunkt för en LSTM för att sedan kombinera trajektoria med utseende för förenad detektering och spårning av drönare. Fastän vår specifika implementation inte lyckas överträffa en traditionell objektdetekterare i form av YOLOv8, skulle detta kunna ändras givet en lösning på två identifierade problem med vårt tillvägagångssätt. Det första problemet är att hitta ett effektivt sätt att inkorporera stora mängder bakgrundsdata i träningen av vårt nätverk. Det andra är att undvika att gång på gång föreslå samma kandidater och samtidigt kunna snabbt återuppta spårningen av en förlorad drönare.

This dissertation explores the integration and optimization of advanced communication technologies within the collaborative mobile system (CMS), focusing on the system design, implementation, and evaluation over unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Collectively, this dissertation tackles the key challenges of connectivity and performance within CMS. This work demonstrates practical implementations and sheds light on the challenges and opportunities for CMS. The dissertation emphasizes the importance of adaptability and scalability in network design and implementation, particularly in leveraging the integration of hardware and software to adapt to promising architectures. By providing insights into performance under real-world conditions, this work explores the interplay of innovations in UAVs, mobile communications, network architecture, and system performance, paving the way for future network investigation and development.

<p>In the process of designing an electric power supply system for an aircraft, parameters like low weight and low losses are important. Reliability, robustness and low cost are other important factors. In the Saab Gripen aircraft, the design of the primary power supply of the electric flight control system was updated by exchanging a switching transistor regulator to a magnetic amplifier (magamp). By introducing a magamp design, weight was saved and a more reliable power supply system at a lower cost was achieved.</p><p> In this particular case, with the power supply of the electric flight control system in the Saab Gripen fighter, advantage could be taken of a specific permanent magnet generator (PM-generator). The frequency of the generator offered the perfect conditions for a magamp controller. A key parameter in designing magnetic amplifiers (magamps) is low losses. New amorphous alloys offer new possibilities of the technique in designing magnetic amplifiers, because of their extremely low losses.</p><p> The core losses are evaluated by studying the equations and diagrams specifying the power losses. The core losses are evaluated and compared with the copper losses in the process of optimizing low weight and low losses. For this an engineering tool is developed and demonstrated.</p><p> Evaluations of the hysteresis characteristics for the magnetic alloys, as well as modeling and simulation of the core losses, are presented in this work. The modeling of the core losses includes hysteresis losses, eddy current losses and excess losses as well as copper losses. The losses are studied dynamically during realistic operational conditions. The model can be used for any generic analysis of hysteresis in magnetic circuits. Applications of magnetic amplifiers in aircrafts have been demonstrated to be a feasible alternative</p>

Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons au problème de l’atterrissage lunaire autonome et nous proposons une méthode innovante amenant une alternative à l’utilisation de capteurs classiques qui peuvent se révéler encombrants, énergivores et très onéreux.La première partie est consacrée au développement et à la construction de capteurs de mouvement inspirés de la vision des insectes volants et mesurant le flux optique.Le flux optique correspond à la vitesse angulaire relative de l’environnement mesurée par la rétine d’un agent. Dans un environnement fixe, les mouvements d’un robot génèrent un flux optique contenant des informations essentielles sur le mouvement de ce dernier. En utilisant le principe du « temps de passage », nous présentons les résultats expérimentaux obtenus en extérieur avec deux versions de ces capteurs.Premièrement, un capteur mesurant le flux optique dans les deux directions opposées est développé et testé en laboratoire. Deuxièmement un capteur adapté à la mesure des faibles flux optiques similaires à ceux pouvant être mesurés lors d’un alunissage est développé, caractérisé et enfin testé sur un drone hélicoptère en conditions extérieures.Dans la seconde partie, une méthode permettant de réaliser le guidage, la navigation et la commande (GNC pour Guidance Navigation and Control) du système est proposée. L’innovation réside dans le fait que l’atterrissage en douceur est uniquement assuré par les capteurs de flux optique. L’utilisation des capteurs inertiels est réduite au maximum. Plusieurs capteurs orientés dans différentes directions de visée, et fixés à la structure de l’atterrisseur permettent d’atteindre les conditions finales définies par les partenaires industriels. Les nombreuses informations décrivant la position et l’attitude du système contenues dans le flux optique sont exploitées grâce aux algorithmes de navigation qui permettent d’estimer les flux optiques ventraux et d’expansion ainsi que le tangage.Nous avons également montré qu’il est possible de contrôler l’atterrisseur planétaire en faisant suivre aux flux optiques estimés une consigne optimale au sens de la consommation d’énergie. Les simulations réalisées durant la thèse ont permis de valider le fonctionnement et le potentiel de la solution GNC proposée en intégrant le code du capteur ainsi que des images simulées du sol de la lune. / In this PhD thesis, the challenge of autonomous lunar landing was addressed and an innovative method was developed, which provides an alternative to the classical sensor suites based on RADAR, LIDAR and cameras, which tend to be bulky, energy consuming and expensive. The first part is devoted to the development of a sensor inspired by the fly’s visual sensitivity to optic flow (OF). The OF is an index giving the relative angular velocity of the environment sensed by the retina of a moving insect or robot. In a fixed environment (where there is no external motion), the self-motion of an airborne vehicle generates an OF containing information about its own velocity and attitude and the distance to obstacles. Based on the “Time of Travel” principle we present the results obtained for two versions of 5 LMSs based optic flow sensors. The first one is able to measure accurately the OF in two opposite directions. It was tested in the laboratory and gave satisfying results. The second optic flow sensor operates at low velocities such as those liable to occur during lunar landing was developed. After developing these sensors, their performances were characterized both indoors and outdoors, and lastly, they were tested onboard an 80-kg helicopter flying in an outdoor environment. The Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) system was designed in the second part on the basis of several algorithms, using various tools such as optimal control, nonlinear control design and observation theory. This is a particularly innovative approach, since it makes it possible to perform soft landing on the basis of OF measurements and as less as possible on inertial sensors. The final constraints imposed by our industrial partners were met by mounting several non-gimbaled sensors oriented in different gaze directions on the lander’s structure. Information about the lander’s self-motion present in the OF measurements is extracted by navigation algorithms, which yield estimates of the ventral OF, expansion OF and pitch angle. It was also established that it is possible to bring the planetary lander gently to the ground by tracking a pre-computed optimal reference trajectory in terms of the lowest possible fuel consumption. Software-in-the-loop simulations were carried out in order to assess the potential of the proposed GNC approach by testing its performances. In these simulations, the sensor firmware was taken into account and virtual images of the lunar surface were used in order to improve the realism of the simulated landings.

Applications such as urban surveillance, search and rescue, agricultural applications, military applications, etc., require miniature air vehicles (MAVs) to fly for a long time. But they have restricted flight duration due to their dependence on battery life, which necessitates optimal path planning. The generated optimal path should obey the curvature limits prescribed by the minimum turn radius/ maximum turn rate of the MAV. Further, in a dynamically changing environment, the final configuration that the MAV has to achieve may change en route, which demands the path to be replanned by an airborne processor in real-time. As MAVs are small in size and light in weight, wind has a very significant effect on the flight of MAVs and the computation of the minimum-time path in the presence of wind plays an important role. The thesis develops feasible trajectory generation algorithms which are fast, efficient, optimal and implementable in an onboard computer for rectilinear and circular path convergence problems and waypoint following problems both in the absence and in the presence of wind. The first part of the thesis addresses the problem of computation of optimal trajectories when MAVs fly on a two-dimensional (2D) plane maintaining a constant altitude. The shortest path is computed for MAVs from a given initial position and orientation to a given final path with a specified direction as required for a given mission. Unlike the classical Dubins problem where the shortest path was computed between two given configurations (position and orientation), the final point in this case is not specified. However, the final path, which can either be a rectilinear path or a circular path, and the direction to which the MAV should converge, is specified. The time-optimal path of MAVs is developed in the presence of wind mainly using the geometric approach although a few important properties are also obtained using optimal control theory, specifically, Pontryagin’s minimum principle (which provides only the necessary condition for optimality) for control-constrained systems. The complete optima l solution to this problem in all its generality is a major contribution of this thesis as existing methods in the literature that address this problem are either not optimal or do not give a complete solution. Further, the time-optimal path for specified initial and final configurations is generated in reasonably short time without computing all the path lengths of possible candidate paths, which is the method that exists in the literature for similar problems. Simulation results illustrate path generation for various cases, including the presence of steady and time-varying wind. Another problem in MAV path planning in 2D addressed in this thesis computes an extremal path that transitions between two consecutive waypoint segments (obtained by joining two way points in sequence) in a time-optimal fashion. This designed trajectory, named as γ-trajectory, is also used to track the maximum portion of waypoint segments in minimum time and the shortest distance between this trajectory and the associated waypoint can be set to a desired value. Another optimal path, called the loop trajectory, that goes through the way points as well as through the entire waypoint segments, is also proposed. Subsequently, the thesis proposes algorithms to generate trajectories in the presence of steady wind and compares these with the optimal trajectory generated using nonlinear programming based multiple shooting method to show that the generated paths are optimal in most cases. In three-dimensional (3D) space, if the initial and final configurations – in terms of (X,Y,Z) position, heading angle and flight path angle- of the vehicle are specified then shortest path computation is an interesting problem in literature. The proposed method in this thesis is based on 3D geometry and, unlike the existing iterative methods which yield suboptimal paths and are computationally more intensive, this method generates the shortest path in much less time. Due to its simplicity and low computational requirements, this approach can be implemented on a MAV in real-time. But, If the path demands very high pitch angle (as in the case of steep climbs), the generated path may not be flyable for an aerial vehicle with limited range of flight path angles. In such cases numerical methods, such as multiple shooting, coupled with nonlinear programming, are used to obtain the optimal solution. The time-optimal 3D path is also developed in the presence of wind which has a magnitude comparable to the speed of MAVs. The simulation results show path generation for a few sample cases to show the efficacy of the proposed approach as compared to the available approach in the literature. Next, the path convergence problem is studied in 3D for MAVs. The shortest path is generated to converge to a rectilinear path and a circular path starting from a known initial position and orientation. The method is also extended to compute the time-optimal path in the presence of wind. In simulation, optimal paths are generated for a variety of cases to show the efficacy of the algorithm. The other problem discussed in this thesis considers curvature-constrained trajectory generation technique for following a series of way points in 3D space. Extending the idea used in 2D, a γ-trajectory in 3D is generated to track the maximum portion of waypoint segments with a desired shortest distance between the trajectory and the associated waypoint. Considering the flyability issue of the plane a loop-trajectory is generated which is flyable by a MAV with constrained flight path angle. Simulation results are given for illustrative purposes. The path generation algorithms are all based on a kinematic model, considering the vehicle as a point in space. Implementing these results in a real MAV will require the dynamics of the MAV to be considered. So, a 6-DOF SIMULINK model of a MAV is used to demonstrate the tracking of the computed paths both in 2D plane and in 3D space using autopilots consisting of proportional-integral-derivative (PID )controllers .Achieving terminal condition accurately in real-time, if there is noisy measurement of wind data, is also addressed.