A simple low cost vision system for small unmanned VTOL vehicles

Alternative designs of a simple, low cost, effective vision system suitable for small, portable, unmanned vertical take off and landing (VTOL) vehicle based surveillance and landmark recognition are presented. Designs depend mainly on two critical constraints: aerial vehicle payload limitations and power supply limitations; both constraints affect on-board vision system configuration, processing power and flexibility. Hardware and software components are described for both designs. Advantages and disadvantages of both alternatives are compared and an implementation of the chosen system is presented along with experimental results.