Landing on a moving target using an autonomous helicopter

Abstract

We present a vision-based algorithm designed to enable an autonomous helicopter to land on a moving target. The helicopter is required to identify the target, track it, and land on it while the target is in motion. We use Hu's moments of inertia for precise target recognition and a Kalman filter for target tracking. Based on the output of the tracker, a simple trajectory controller is implemented which (within the given constraints) ensures that the helicopter is able to land on the target. We present data collected from manual flights which validate our tracking algorithm. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.