Autonomous unmanned aerial surveillance vehicle - autonomous control and flight dynamics

Abstract

The field of autonomous UAV research and development is a rapidly expanding sector of engineering. Technological advances in aircraft design, solid state devices, communications and battery technology have allowed for a shift in UAV technology from purely militarised applications towards lower cost general aviation purposes. The overall project (when combined with 'navigation and user Interface', Knox 2005) sought to develop a low cost, fixed wing UAV system to conduct specific flight path surveillance over a pre-determined waypoint path. This particular section of the project focussed on the task of controlling the stability of the aircraft during its mission.