Uninhabited aerial vehicle research at Ohio University and Mississippi State University

The Avionics Engineering Center and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Ohio University (OU) have established a research effort in uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) with the intent developing autonomous flight capabilities. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Mississippi State University has recently entered into a collaborative effort with OU in this area. This paper presents the current status of this UAV research, several mission scenarios have been considered, including search and rescue missions. The Brumby UAV is described, including payload capabilities, flight duration capabilities, and the various hardware and software components of the present system. Results of flight testing are shown, with 3D navigation information determined from the GPS units displayed. Finally, future goals of the research are discussed.