3D Model-based estimation for UAV tracking

This work presents a system to perform autonomous landing of a small size fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on a Fast Patrol Boat (FPB). We propose a ground-based vision system with the camera, image capture and processing equipment installed in the ship, thus reducing the UAV size, weight and power requirements. The system observes the UAV and computes the control commands to send to the UAV via radio. This approach makes it also possible to use standard UAVs equipped with commercial autopilots. The developed system uses the captured image as input and a Particle Filter (PF) structure to estimate the UAV trajectory. It is also used an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) for the translational motion filtering and an Unscented Bingham Filter (UBiF) for the rotational motion filtering. This filtering structure is reminiscent of the Unscented Particle Filter (UPF). The obtained tracking error is compatible with automatic landing requirements.