Embedded System for Precision Positioning, Detection, and Avoidance (PODA) for Small UAS

This article described the implementation and development of positioning, detection, and avoid (PODA), an embedded electronic platform, installed on-board a UAV, designed for precision positioning. The experimental campaigns showed that the data fusion LIDAR/ADXL345 could assist a UAV during navigation, as well as in critical conditions, such as low visibility (i.e., fog, high concentration of smoke in case of fire). Further work will be related to PODA performance enhancement, in particular: Accurate accelerometer calibration with a least square method; Obstacle detection; - Additional sensors installed, such as inertial measurement units and time-of-flight sensors; Multisensor data fusion techniques and fault detection analysis; and Experimental sessions with faster data acquisition rates (i.e., sampling at 50 Hz) and simulation of different landing conditions (with and without obstacles in landing area).