Development of an Obstacle Detection System for Human Supervisory Control of a UAV in Urban Environments

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCulhane, Andrew Alanen
dc.contributor.committeechairKochersberger, Kevin B.en
dc.contributor.committeememberCrandall, Jacoben
dc.contributor.committeememberWicks, Alfred L.en
dc.contributor.committeememberReinholtz, Charles F.en
dc.contributor.departmentMechanical Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:49:21Zen
dc.date.adate2008-01-19en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:49:21Zen
dc.date.issued2007-12-04en
dc.date.rdate2008-01-19en
dc.date.sdate2007-12-12en
dc.description.abstractIn order to operate UAVs under human supervisory control in more complex arenas such as urban environments, an obstacle detection system is a requirement to achieve safe navigation. The development of a system capable of meeting these requirements is presented. The first stage of development was sensor selection and initial testing. After this, the sensor was combined with a servomotor to allow it to rotate and provide obstacle detection coverage in front, below, and to both sides of the UAV. Utilizing a PC-104 single board computer running LabView Real-time for on-board control of the sensor and servomotor, a stand alone obstacle detection system was developed meeting the requirements of light weight, low power, and small size. The detection performance of the system for several parameters has been fully characterized. A human subjects study was conducted to assess the any advantages resulting from the addition of the obstacle detection system compared to that of a normal nadir camera. The study demonstrated that users with access to the three-dimensional display were able to navigate an obstacle course with greater success than those with only a camera. Additional development into more advanced visualization of the environment has potential to increase effectiveness of this obstacle detection system.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-12122007-142004en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12122007-142004/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/36082en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartCulhane_MS_Thesis_ETDrev.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectUser Performance Evaluationen
dc.subjectObstacle Detectionen
dc.subjectSupervisory Controlen
dc.subjectDrone aircraften
dc.titleDevelopment of an Obstacle Detection System for Human Supervisory Control of a UAV in Urban Environmentsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineMechanical Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Culhane_MS_Thesis_ETDrev.pdf
Size:
1.31 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Masters Theses