Inferência dos ângulos críticos de voo por associação do fluxo óptico com a geometria da cena

Abstract

The three Attitude Parameters or Critical Flight Parameters - Attack, Yaw and Roll - are the angles that describe the rotational movements of an aerial vehicle in three-dimensional space. From the estimate of these angles, we can accomplish the stabilization of flight. The need for it varies for each type of aerial vehicle in inverse proportion to the stability provided by their mechanical characteristics. Moreover, the association of critical angles with other flight parameters, such as altitude and velocity, enables the description of all vehicle movements, and consequently, the execution of a flight path predetermined. Critical Flight Parameters can be inferred by electromechanical inertial sensors, Global Positioning System or by visual perception. Several authors mention that the electromechanical sensors fail and Global Positioning System are unavailable for some period of time under various environmental conditions, leading to loss of orientation and, in the case of unmanned vehicles, several accidents, given the lack of support from a pilot on these situations. In this work two techniques are integrated to estimate these parameters, based on Robotic Vision: the first one is based on the position and inclination of the Horizon about the aerial vehicle; and the second one is based on the estimation of optical flow of the scene viewed by the aerial vehicle. The use of optical flow provides the estimation of Yaw Parameter, which is not got at Horizon approach. It also enables the estimation of Critical Flight Parameters when the Horizon is not present. Both techniques are associated with camera parameters and integrated to provide more robustness to the flight angles estimation. Experiments conducted using real images of fixed-wing aircraft flight proved the method efficacy in open and unstructured envinroment.