The design, manufacture, analysis and control of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

Funded by the Innovation and Technology Commission and DJI Innovations Technology Co., Ltd, the project aims to design, analyze and build a VTOL UAV, which has the capability to make emergency deliveries of blood samples, first-aid medicine etc. Intensive computer simulations such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFDs) and wind-tunnel tests will be performed, in order to optimize the vehicle design, study its behavior and establish a knowledge base for future research. An autopilot system will be developed to stabilize the vehicle in windy conditions, enhance flight safety, and most important of all, ease user operation.

The whole research team consists of PI (Prof Shaojie Shen), research staff, and research postgraduate students from HKUST and HKPolyU, all with prior experiences in the development of UAVs.

Autonomous flight and obstacle avoidance of UAVs in complex environments

Autonomous micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) have cost and mobility benefits, making them ideal robotic platforms for applications including aerial photography, surveillance, and search and rescue. A monocular visual-inertial navigation system (VINS), consisting only of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a camera, becomes the most suitable sensor suite in this case, thanks to its ultra-light weight and small footprint. In fact, it is the minimum sensor suite allowing autonomous flight with sufficient environmental awareness.

                 State estimation

                    Trajectory planning

Related publications please click here