Vision-Based Geolocation Tracking System for Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles

The design and implementation of a vision-based geolocation tracking system for uninhabited aerial vehicles is described. The geolocation tracking system for the uninhabited aerial vehicles includes avionics, a gimballing camera with feedback isolation and command loops, and aground station. The point of interest is locked in the camera image by maintaining the center of the image frame to frame. An architecture for a geolocation tracking estimator is developed and demonstrated. The estimator has the unique characteristics of being modular so that it can work with different camera systems and different avionics components, compensate for random and bias uncertainties, run in real time, and deliver a consistent estimate of the location and uncertainty of the object being tracked. Flight results using the SeaScan uninhabited aerial vehicles show consistent results for two- and three-dimensional tracking of stationary and moving targets.