In recent years, autonomous robots have become ubiquitous in research and daily life. Among many factors, public datasets play an important role the progress of this field, as they waive tall order initial investment hardware manpower. However, for on aerial systems, there appears to be a relative lack par with those used driving ground robots. Thus, fill gap, we conduct data collection exercise platform equipped extensive unique set sensors: two 3D lidars, hardware-synchronized...

In recent years, onboard self-localization (OSL) methods based on cameras or lidar have achieved many significant progresses. However, some issues such as estimation drift and robustness in low-texture environment still remain inherent challenges for OSL methods. On the other hand, infrastructure-based can generally overcome these issues, but at expense of installation cost. This poses an interesting problem how to effectively combine methods, so achieve localization with long-term...

Though vision-based techniques have become quite popular for autonomous docking of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), due to limited field view (FOV), the UAV must rely on other methods detect and approach target before vision can be used. In this paper we propose a method combining Ultra-wideband (UWB) ranging sensor with achieve both approaching landing capabilities in GPS-denied environments. phase, robust efficient recursive least-square optimization algorithm is proposed estimate position...

Despite recent progress in trajectory planning for multiple robots and a single tethered robot, to reach their individual targets without entanglements remains challenging problem. In this article, complete approach is presented address First, multirobot tether-aware representation of homotopy proposed efficiently evaluate the feasibility safety potential path terms 1) cable length required target following path, 2) risk with cables other robots. Then applied decentralized online framework,...

In this article, we investigate the problem of controlling a multirobot team to follow leader in formation, supported by relative position estimate derived from distance and self-displacement measurements, thus waiving need external localization infrastructure. The main challenge problem, which is simultaneously fulfill both control tasks, efficiently novelly resolved embedding distance-displacement-based persistently excited adaptive technique into time-varying formation with bounded input...

In this letter we investigate a tightly coupled Lidar-Inertia Odometry and Mapping (LIOM) scheme, with the capability to incorporate multiple lidars complementary field of view (FOV). essence, devise time-synchronized scheme combine extracted features from separate into single pointcloud, which is then used construct local map compute feature-map matching (FMM) coefficients. These coefficients, along IMU preinteration observations, are factor graph that will be optimized produce an estimate...

In multi-robot systems, the capability of each robot to relatively localize its neighbors is a crucial requirement, which needs be resolved as prerequisite for almost any distributed scheme operation. Notably, this problem proves quite challenging in GPS-denied environments. letter, we investigate simultaneous relative localization and leader-following control aerial robots by using only ranging odometry sensors, waiving need external positioning systems. To tackle challenge, propose...

In this brief, we study the distance-based navigation problem of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by using a single landmark placed at an arbitrarily unknown position. To solve problem, propose integrated estimation-control scheme to simultaneously accomplishes two objectives: relative localization only distance and odometry measurements, desired location under bounded control input. Asymptotic convergence is obtained invoking discrete-time LaSalle's invariance principle in noise-free case,...

In recent years, thanks to the continuously reduced cost and weight of 3D lidar, applications this type sensor in community have become increasingly popular. Despite many progresses, estimation drift tracking loss are still prevalent concerns associated with these systems. However, theory issues can be resolved use some observations fixed landmarks operation environments. This motivates us investigate a fusion scheme lidar inertia measurements Ultra-Wideband (UWB) range such landmarks, which...

The current light detection and ranging simultaneous localization mapping (LiDAR-SLAM) system suffers greatly from low accuracy limited robustness when faced with complicated circumstances. From our experiments, we find that LiDAR-SLAM systems have performance specular surfaces such as glass, certain metals, building walls are rich in urban environments. Therefore, this work, propose a general termed <underline xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"...

In this paper, we propose a tightly-coupled, multi-modal simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) framework, integrating an extensive set of sensors: IMU, cameras, multiple lidars, Ultra-wideband (UWB) range measurements, hence referred to as VIRAL (visual-inertial-ranging-lidar) SLAM. To achieve such comprehensive sensor fusion system, one has tackle several challenges data synchronization, multi-threading programming, bundle adjustment (BA), conflicting coordinate frames between UWB...

We propose the Cooperative Aerial Robot Inspection Challenge (CARIC), a simulation-based benchmark for motion planning algorithms in heterogeneous multi-UAV systems. CARIC features UAV teams with complementary sensors, realistic constraints, and evaluation metrics prioritizing inspection quality efficiency. It offers ready-to-use perception-control software stack diverse scenarios to support development of task allocation algorithms. Competitions using were held at IEEE CDC 2023 IROS 2024...

In this paper, we propose a method to address the problem of scale uncertainty in monocular visual odometry (VO), which includes ambiguity and drift, using distance measurements from single ultra-wideband (UWB) anchor. A variant Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) nonlinear least squares regression is proposed rectify unscaled position data with 1D point-to-point measurements. As loosely-coupled approach, our flexible that each input block can be replaced one’s preferred choices for odometry/SLAM...

In this article, we focus on enabling the autonomous perception and control of a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for façade inspection task. Specifically, consider as planar object pose estimation problem by simplifying building structure concatenation planes, an optimal reference tracking problem. First, vision-based adaptive observer is proposed plane which converges fast insensitive to noise under very mild observation conditions. Second, model predictive controller (MPC) designed...

As recalling an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) after completing a mission requires quite lot of attention and skill from its operator, in this paper we propose method to empower UAV with the capability autonomously return base perform precision landing mission. The main challenge being tackled work is that while vision-based technique already mature, due GPS error, can only within several meters home position may fail detect visual marker. To resolve problem, employ Ultra-wideband (UWB)...

This letter introduces a differential dynamic programming (DDP) based framework for polynomial trajectory generation differentially flat systems. In particular, instead of using linear equation with increasing size to represent multiple segments as in literature, we take new perspective from state-space representation such that the reduces finite horizon control system fixed state dimension and required continuity conditions consecutive polynomials are automatically satisfied. Consequently,...

Abstract We propose a navigation system combining sensor‐aided inertial and prior‐map‐based localization to improve the stability accuracy of robot in structure‐rich environments. Specifically, we adopt point, line, plane features enhance feature richness low‐texture environments reliability. additionally integrate structure prior information constrain drifts accuracy. The is called priors parameterized as low‐dimensional relative distances/angles between different geometric primitives....

In this paper, we propose a cost-effective strategy for heterogeneous UAV swarm systems cooperative aerial inspection. Unlike previous inspection works, the proposed method does not rely on precise prior knowledge of environment and can complete full 3D surface coverage objects in any shape. work, agents are partitioned into teams, with each drone assign different task, including mapping, exploration, Task allocation is facilitated by assigning optimal volumes to team, following best-first...

In this paper we study the distance-based docking problem of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by using a single landmark placed at an arbitrarily unknown position. To solve problem, propose integrated estimation-control scheme to simultaneously achieve relative localization and navigation tasks for discrete-time integrators under bounded velocity: nonlinear adaptive estimation estimate position landmark, delicate control ensure both convergence asymptotic given landmark. A rigorous proof is...

This paper presents a robust computationally efficient real-time collision avoidance algorithm for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), namely Memory-based Wall Following-Artificial Potential Field (MWF-APF) method. The new switches between Wall-Following Method (WFM) and Artificial method (APF) with improved situation awareness capability. Historical trajectory is taken into account to avoid repetitive wrong decision. Furthermore, it can be effectively applied platform low computing As an...

Abstract This paper considers the scenario where multiple robots collaboratively cover a region in which exact distribution of workload is unknown prior to operation. The not uniform region, meaning that time required unit area varies at different locations region. In our approach, we divide target into horizontal stripes, and sweep current stripe while partitioning next concurrently. We propose distributed partition algorithm prove operation on each converges minimum under discrete-time...

In this article, we consider the problem of using a multirobot system to conduct sweep coverage over region with uneven and unknown workload distribution. Uneven distribution means that robot has spend different amounts time covering unit area at locations in region. Unknown amount any location is prior operation, hence online sensing allocation needed for better efficiency. work, adopt formulation which entire separated into multiple stripes, discrete-time distributed algorithm used...