Small Unmanned Aircraft: Theory and Practice

Randal W. Beard; Timothy W. McLain

Published by Princeton University Press 2012

Small Unmanned Aircraft

Theory and Practice

Randal W. Beard and Timothy W. McLain

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400840601

Overview
Contents

About this book

Autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are critical to current and future military, civil, and commercial operations. Despite their importance, no previous textbook has accessibly introduced UAVs to students in the engineering, computer, and science disciplines--until now. Small Unmanned Aircraft provides a concise but comprehensive description of the key concepts and technologies underlying the dynamics, control, and guidance of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft, and enables all students with an introductory-level background in controls or robotics to enter this exciting and important area.

The authors explore the essential underlying physics and sensors of UAV problems, including low-level autopilot for stability and higher-level autopilot functions of path planning. The textbook leads the student from rigid-body dynamics through aerodynamics, stability augmentation, and state estimation using onboard sensors, to maneuvering through obstacles. To facilitate understanding, the authors have replaced traditional homework assignments with a simulation project using the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Students begin by modeling rigid-body dynamics, then add aerodynamics and sensor models. They develop low-level autopilot code, extended Kalman filters for state estimation, path-following routines, and high-level path-planning algorithms. The final chapter of the book focuses on UAV guidance using machine vision.

Designed for advanced undergraduate or graduate students in engineering or the sciences, this book offers a bridge to the aerodynamics and control of UAV flight.

Author / Editor information

Randal W. Beard is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Brigham Young University. He is the coauthor of Distributed Consensus in Multi-vehicle Cooperative Control.
Timothy W. McLain is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University.

Reviews

It is very nicely written with a presentation style that engineers in industry will appreciate. Most of the mathematics involved is very straightforward and the results are presented in a very clear manner. This is a text that should be very useful to those working on unmanned aerial vehicles and may even be of interest to those working on unmanned land or marine vehicles.

"Presenting aircraft dynamics to nonaerospace students, this book provides a clear description and explanation for the design of navigation, guidance, and control algorithms for small to miniature unmanned aircraft systems."—Eric W. Frew, University of Colorado, Boulder

"This book presents a unique and broad introduction to the necessary background, tools, and methods to design guidance, navigation, and control systems for unmanned air vehicles. Written with confidence and authority by leading researchers in the field, this effectively organized book provides an excellent reference for all those interested in this subject."—Emilio Frazzoli, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Coordinate Frames Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	8
3. Kinematics and Dynamics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
4. Forces and Moments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
5. Linear Design Models Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
6. Autopilot Design Using Successive Loop Closure Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
7. Sensors for MAVs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
8. State Estimation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
9. Design Models for Guidance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	164
10. Straight-line and Orbit Following Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	174
11. Path Manager Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
12. Path Planning Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	206
13. Vision-guided Navigation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	226
Appendix A. Nomenclature and Notation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Appendix B. Quaternions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	254
Appendix C. Animations in Simulink Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	260
Appendix D. Modeling in Simulink Using S-Functions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	270
Appendix E. Airframe Parameters Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275
Appendix F. Trim and Linearization in Simulink Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	277
Appendix G. Essentials from Probability Theory Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	286
Appendix H. Sensor Parameters Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	288
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	299

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