Design and Implementation of Sensor Platform for UAV-Based Target Tracking and Obstacle Avoidance

Small-scale unmanned aerial vehicles are being deployed in urban areas for missions such as ground target tracking, crime scene monitoring, and traffic management. Aerial vehicles deployed in such cluttered environments are required to have robust autonomous navigation with both target tracking and obstacle avoidance capabilities. To this end, this work presents a simple-to-design but effective steerable sensor platform and its implementation techniques for both obstacle avoidance and target tracking. The proposed platform is a 2-axis gimbal system capable of roll and pitch/yaw. The mathematical model that governs the dynamics of this platform is developed. The performance of the platform is validated through a software-in-the-loop simulation. The simulation results show that the platform can be effectively steered to all regions of interest except backward. With its design layout and mount location, the platform can engage sensors for obstacle avoidance and target tracking as per requirements. Moreover, steering the platform in any direction does not induce aerodynamic instability on the unmanned aerial vehicle in mission.

Automated summary

This paper presents a simple yet effective steerable sensor platform for obstacle avoidance and target tracking in urban areas. The platform is capable of roll and pitch/yaw and has been validated through software-in-the-loop simulation. It provides robust navigation without affecting the aerodynamic stability of unmanned aerial vehicles.