• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2016

The accuracy of small and low-cost CCD cameras is insufficient to provide data for precisely tracking unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This study shows how a quad rotor UAV can hover on a human targeted tracking object by using data from a CCD camera rather than imprecise GPS data. To realize this, quadcopter UAVs need to recognize their position and posture in known environments as well as unknown environments. Moreover, it is necessary for their localization to occur naturally. It is desirable for UAVs to estimate their position by solving uncertainty for quadcopter UAV hovering, as this is one of the most important problems. In this paper, we describe a method for determining the altitude of a quadcopter UAV using image information of a moving object like a walking human. This method combines the observed position from GPS sensors and the estimated position from images captured by a fixed camera to localize a UAV. Using the a priori known path of a quadcopter UAV in the world coordinates and a perspective camera model, we derive the geometric constraint equations that represent the relation between image frame coordinates for a moving object and the estimated quadcopter UAV's altitude. Since the equations are based on the geometric constraint equation, measurement error may exist all the time. The proposed method utilizes the error between the observed and estimated image coordinates to localize the quadcopter UAV. The Kalman filter scheme is applied for this method. Its performance is verified by a computer simulation and experiments.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.16-26
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• 2023

With the growing demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), various collision avoidance methods have been proposed, mainly using LiDAR and stereo cameras. However, it is difficult to apply these sensors to small UAVs due to heavy weight or lack of space. The recently proposed methods use a combination of object recognition models and distance sensors, but they lack information on the obstacle size. This disadvantage makes distance determination and obstacle coordination complicated in an early-stage collision avoidance. We propose a method for estimating obstacle sizes using a monocular camera-YOLO and infrared sensor. Our experimental results confirmed that the accuracy was 86.39% within the distance of 40 cm. In addition, the proposed method was applied to a small UAV to confirm whether it was possible to avoid obstacle collisions.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.134-141
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• 2019

Radar systems are divided into the pulse Doppler (PD) radar and the frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar depending on the transmission waveform. In particular, the PD radar is advantageous for long-range target detection, and the FMCW radar is suitable for short-range target detection. In this paper, we present design and implementation results for a multi-mode radar signal processor (RSP) that can support both PD and FMCW radar systems to detect unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at short distances as well as long distances. The proposed radar signal processor can be implemented based on Altera Cyclone-IV FPGA with 19,623 logic elements, 9,759 registers, and 25,190,400 memory bits. The logic elements and registers of the proposed radar signal processor are reduced by approximately 43% and 30%, respectively, compared to the sum of logic elements and registers of the conventional PD radar and FMCW radar signal processor.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.737-750
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• 2022

The demands of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are growing very rapidly with the era of the 4th industrial revolution. As the technology of the UAV improved with the development of artificial intelligence and semiconductor technology, it began to be used in various civilian fields such as hobbies, bridge inspections, etc from being used for special purposes such as military use. MAVLink (Macro Air Vehicle Link), which started as an open source project, is the most widely used communication protocol between UAV and ground control station. However, MAVLink does not include any security features such as encryption/decryption mechanism, so it is vulnerable to various security threats. Therefore, in this study, the block cipher is implemented in UAV to ensure confidentiality, and the results of the encryption and decryption performance evaluation in the UAV according to various implementation methods are analyzed. In addition, we proposed the security requirements in accordance with Common Criteria, which is an international recognized ISO standard.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.76-85
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• 2024

Recently, from a global perspective, the use of small unmanned aerial vehicles in terrorism and warfare is increasing, and the need for anti-drone shooting training targeting small UAVs is increasing. However, in reality, there are many cases in Korea where anti-drone shooting training is restricted, due to complaints such as noise. In this paper, we describe the development and testing of an electric-powered direct strike type high-speed, low-noise small aerial target drone. To achieve the flight speed and endurance required for shooting training, target drone sizing was performed, and aerodynamic performance analysis was conducted using a CFD program. Based on the performance analysis, the motor propulsion system was selected and a variable pitch propeller system was designed, and performance tests were performed on a ground test rig. Finally, the target flight speed, flight time, and flight noise level were confirmed through flight tests.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.17-22
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• 2014

The design of a fuel cells stack is important to get optimal output power. This study focuses on the evaluation of fuel cell system for unmaned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Low temperature proton exchange membrane (LTPEM) fuel cells are the most promising energy source for the robot applications because of their unique advantages such as high energy density, cold startup, and quick response during operation. In this paper, a 600 W open cathode LTPEM fuel cell was tested to evaluate the performance and to determine optimal operating conditions. The open cathode design reduces the overall size of the system to meet the requirement for robotic application. The cruise power requirement of 600 W was supported entirely by the fuel cell while the additional power requirements during takeoff was extended using a battery. A peak of power of 900 W is possible for 10 mins with a lithium polymer (LiPo) battery. The system was evaluated under various load cycles as well as start-stop cycles. The system response from no load to full load meets the robot platform requirement. The total weigh of the stack was 2 kg, while the overall system, including the fuel processing system and battery, was 4 kg.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.263-270
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• 2024

As unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) and sensors have been developed in a variety of ways, it has become possible to update information on the ground faster than existing aerial photography or remote sensing. However, acquisition and input of ground control points(GCPs) UAV photogrammetry takes a lot of time, and geometric distortion occurs if measurement and input of GCPs are incorrect. In this study, RGB-based orthophotos were generated to reduce GCPs measurment and input time, and comparison and evaluation were performed by applying feature point algorithms to target orthophotos from various sensors. Four feature point extraction algorithms were applied to the two study sites, and as a result, speeded up robust features(SURF) was the best in terms of the ratio of matching pairs to feature points. When compared overall, the accelerated-KAZE(AKAZE) method extracted the most feature points and matching pairs, and the binary robust invariant scalable keypoints(BRISK) method extracted the fewest feature points and matching pairs. Through these results, it was confirmed that the AKAZE method is superior when performing geometric correction of the objective orthophoto for each sensor.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.1124-1132
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• 2011

This paper deals with smooth path generation using B-spline for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles manuevering in 2D environment. Hexagonal cell representation is employed to model the 2D environment, which features increased connectivity among cells over square cell representation. Subsequently, hexagonal cell representation enables smoother path generation based on a discrete sequence of path from the path planner. In addition, we present an on-line path smoothing algorithm incorporating B-spline path templates. The path templates are computed off-line by taking into account all possible path sequences within finite horizon. During on-line implementation, the B-spline curves from the templates are stitched together repeatedly to come up with a reference trajectory for UAVs. This method is an effective way of generating smooth path with reduced on-line computation requirement, hence it can be implemented on a small low-cost autopilot that has limited computational resources.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.395-398
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• 2009

Currently, a new generation of ducted fan UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) is under development for a wide range of inspection, investigation and combat missions as well as for a variety of civil roles like traffic monitoring, meteorological studies, hazard mitigation etc. The current study presents extensive results obtained experimentally in order to investigate the tip clearance effects on performance characteristics of a ducted fan for small UAV systems. Three ducted fans having different tip clearance gap and with same rotor size were examined under three different yawed conditions of calibrated slanted hot-wire probe. Three dimensional velocity flow fields were measured from hub to tip at outlet of the ducted fan. The analysis of data were done by PLEAT (Phase locked Ensemble Averaging Technique) and three non-linear differential equations were solved simultaneously by using Newton -Rhapson numerical method. Flow field characteristics such as tip vortex and secondary flow were confirmed through axial, radial and tangential velocity contour plots. At the same time, the effects of tip clearance on axial thrust and input power were also investigated by using wind tunnel measurement system. For enhancing the performance of ducted fan, tip clearance level should be as small as possible.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2016

In order to suggest the optimal manufacturing technology of composite wings of solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles, this study compared forming technologies to reduce wing weight for long-endurance flight and to improve the manufacturing process for cost-saving and mass production. It compared the manufacturing time and weight of various composite wing molding technologies, including cocuring, secondary bonding, and manufacturing by balsa. As a result, wing weight was reduced through cocuring methods such as band type composite fiber/tape lamination technology, which enabled prolonged flight duration. In addition, the reduced manufacturing time led to a lower cost, which is a good example of weight lightening for not only small solar-powered UAVs, but also composite aircraft.