In this paper, a novel method for real-time horizon-based attitude estimation using panoramic images is presented with results from real flight tests showing accurate attitude estimation for a rotary-wing aircraft in cluttered environments. The vision system is biologically inspired from the function of the Ocelli organ present in some insects and the fact that ultraviolet images provide better sky/ground contrast enhancement. A new method for panoramic sky/ground thresholding is proposed, consisting of a sky/ground masking and a sun-tracking system that works effectively even when the horizon line is difficult to detect by normal thresholding methods due to flares and other effects from the presence of the sun in the image. The use of optic flow to determine body rates is investigated using the panoramic image and the image interpolation algorithm. A Kalman filter is used to fuse the unfiltered measurements from inertial sensors and the vision system.
Low-altitude horizon-based aircraft attitude estimation using UV-filtered panoramic images and optic flow
IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems ; 52 , 5 ; 2362-2375
2016-10-01
2587430 byte
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Aircraft attitude estimation from horizon video
IET Digital Library Archive | 2006
|Horizon matching for localizing unordered panoramic images
British Library Online Contents | 2010
|Horizon Profile Checkpoints for Low-Altitude Aircraft
IEEE | 1976
|Horizon profile checkpoints for low-altitude aircraft
Tema Archive | 1976
|NTRS | 1976
|