Designing aerial robot sensor suites to account for obscurants

Recent events have proven the utility of aerial robots in search and rescue and military operations performed in near-Earth environments. However, autonomy in such environments is still limited by the robot's ability to perform collision avoidance. Real time, high fidelity maps can be utilized to assist the robot in performing collision avoidance. This paper explores the use of a laser range finder to accomplish real time map building in the presence of obscurants. Experiments were conducted to determine the probabilistic models of the sensor in the presence of rain and fog. These models are then utilized to map obstacles and terrain features in the presence of obscurants. Preliminary results show the implementation of these methods in an aerial vehicle testing facility.