Improved Surveillance and Flight Efficiency using Autonomous Soaring

To address the challenge of increasing flight endurance for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a novel technique involving the exploitation of atmospheric energy, typically by soaring in thermal updrafts, is being developed. The AUTOSOAR algorithm developed in a previous Mitacs project permits the UAV to rely less on its onboard motor to maintain altitude, and reduce the amount of energy consumed during flight, thereby significantly extending mission surveillance time. This algorithm is being advanced by adding functionality for the onboard computer to balance mission objectives with its thermal exploration and exploitation capabilities. This project focuses on developing the logic required for balancing these two objectives. The research undertaken by the intern satisfies four primary sub-objectives: maintenance of test platforms, the development and integration of ground surveillance functionality into AUTOSOAR, performing flight test experiments, and the evaluation of algorithm performance by developing efficient analysis tools.

Faculty Supervisor:

Meyer Nahon

Student:

Partner:

Shearwater Aerospace

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Information and cultural industries; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

McGill University

Program: