Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Indoor Navigation using Wi-Fi Trilateration

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle navigation systems are commonly based on wireless transmissions, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), which are widely used in UAV self-positioning activities. However, indoor environments for UAV remains unexplored to many types of research, limiting the applications of UAV in the areas where the satellite-based GPS have difficulty to penetrate. The autonomous operation of this system in outdoors relies heavily on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, which provides them with location coordinates in a global geographical system. However, the accuracy of GNSS is severely attenuated in an indoor environment where they cannot be reliably used. In this study, it aims to develop a system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in navigating in an indoor environment. The system uses the Wi-Fi signal and the Trilateration algorithm to do the task. A hobby-grade UAV was utilized by modifying its flight controller, and the Arduino was used to do this task. A customized remote controller with GUI using VB.net was also developed to communicate with the flight controller. The system was tested, and the accuracy of the flight path was compared to the actual flight path and the expected flight path. The developed system has an accuracy that ranges from 0.43 to 1.93m with a mean accuracy of 1.11m.