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For remote piloting, UAV controllers
are moving from generic 2.4 GHz
handheld remote handsets to
smartphones and virtual reality control,
or even using smartwatches. Some
small consumer UAVs implement a
combination of collision detection and
‘follow me’ tracking so that the craft
can be ‘controlled’ by a smartwatch.
Combining this with a navigation app
on the watch to upload waypoints to the
craft via Bluetooth provides a higher
level of control.
The challenge of making control of
a craft easier is being addressed with
virtual reality (VR) technology, enabled by
more processing power in smartphones.
As higher quality VR headsets from
smartphone vendors have become
cost-effective, so they can be used as
a control mechanism. There are two
different models for using the technology:
the VR headset can be worn to control
the direction of the craft or the direction
of the gimbal to point the camera.
The former case has been
demonstrated by researchers but
requires two cameras on the UAV to
provide a stereoscopic output back to
the headset. However, the wireless link
back to a smartphone tends to be unable
to support this, leading to a grainy, low-
resolution 3D image and a lag between
the movement of the user’s head and the
image. This has been partly addressed
by the latest VR headsets, but it requires
a computer that is more powerful than is
currently used in GCS systems.
The latter case allows the UAV to ‘see’
where the user is looking and to respond
quickly to changes in the environment.
This is coupled with the autonomous
operation of the craft where waypoints
have been set at the start of the mission.
However, it requires a tighter integration
with the autopilot to control the gimbal,
and delays in the signal chain can make
it difficult for an operator to use it. Also,
if the navigation of the craft needs to be
changed, the operator has to come out of
VR mode to make those changes.
Using VR or smartphones for more
than a few minutes in either case can
also cause problems with control and
operation, owing to eye strain and
disorientation. For this reason GCSs for
industrial and enterprise applications
– from monitoring and surveillance to
agriculture and fire fighting – use large
format LCD displays.
These commercial systems are
demanding more capabilities, from
single screens to dual and triple screens,
even though UAV developers did not
originally see the GCS as a key part of
the overall system design. However, the
performance of gathering data depends
on how easily the UAV can be controlled
and the data analysed on the ground,
so some UAV makers have started
producing their own ground systems.
Dual screens allow one screen to
be allocated to remotely piloting
Ground control systems
|
Focus
Unmanned Systems Technology
| June/July 2016
A single-screen GCS
(Courtesy of Flying Production)
The performance
of gathering data
depends on how
easily the UAV
can be controlled,
so some UAV
makers have
started making
their own systems