Project number
25001
Organization
BAE Systems
Offering
ENGR498-F2024-S2025
Drones often struggle in applications where visibility is limited. This project provides a lightweight, cost-effective, and highly reliable solution for enhancing drone performance in challenging environments. The team developed a simplified drone DVEPS-Lite system that enables autonomous drone navigation in these DVEs. By integrating lidar, or light detection and ranging, and video camera sensors, the system maps the drone’s surroundings in real time and allows the drone to navigate safely while avoiding obstacles, even in low-visibility conditions.
The team’s solution was to design and build a custom mirror mounting system that reflects the lidar laser. This creates a crosshair pattern, which allows more precise object detection at distances of up to 20m. The team also included an actuator system that stabilized this mount by counteracting drone tilts and vibrations. This stabilization was necessary to ensure accurate environmental mapping and obstacle detection. The drone operates autonomously while transmitting telemetry and visual data back to a ground control station, providing operators with critical situational awareness. Additionally, the system features manual override capabilities so the operators can stop or land the drone when necessary.
The team’s solution was to design and build a custom mirror mounting system that reflects the lidar laser. This creates a crosshair pattern, which allows more precise object detection at distances of up to 20m. The team also included an actuator system that stabilized this mount by counteracting drone tilts and vibrations. This stabilization was necessary to ensure accurate environmental mapping and obstacle detection. The drone operates autonomously while transmitting telemetry and visual data back to a ground control station, providing operators with critical situational awareness. Additionally, the system features manual override capabilities so the operators can stop or land the drone when necessary.