Autonomous Thermal Imaging Flight System

California State University, Fresno

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gregory Kriehn

Technical Advisor: Dr. Charles Won

Anthony Alvarez

Jeff Chun

Project Overview

Data gathering systems are useful in several capacities; they can be used in security and surveillance, industrial maintenance (monitoring land or equipment), and in research. The main goal of this project is the design and implementation of an autonomous system capable of performing many of these tasks. The end product will include an unmanned aerial vehicle and a ground control component. The plane will be equipped with an infrared camera, GPS, inertial measurement unit, and sonar. The plane will also carry wireless capability to receive controls and send data down to the ground. The ground control will consist of a laptop responsible for flying the plane and processing data. It will also have a graphical user interface to make the data available to the user (in real time) and allow for user input (waypoints, flight paths, etc.). The system will be fully autonomous including take off and landing.

System Block Diagram

Hardware and Software Features

Data Sensors: The autonomous flight software has to have accurate data from the plane in order to fly it.  It needs to know the plane’s position, altitude, acceleration, and velocity.  The plane is being equipped with sensors to provide this data.  The sensors will be driven by a microcontroller on the plane. The following devices are needed for this project:

•         Inertial Measurement Unit

•         Sonar

•         Differential GPS

•         RF transceivers

Inertial Unit:             Sonar:             Differntial GPS

 Software Interface: The core backbone of the plane’s artificial intelligence is monitored, analyzed, and distributed from the Software Interface, on a host laptop. Using Visual Basic 6, the common windows graphical interface was created. On this interface there are 3 major components; a menu, view module, and data sensors module. The menu supports loading past projects, saving current projects, and other standard menu items. The View module’s main purpose is to show the planes’ past, current, and future actions. Within this module there are sub task options: auto plan, auto view, images, and video. These sub tasks allow the user to switch views on the plane. The data sensor module displays feedback from onboard plane sensors. An example software interface follows:

 Data Acquisition: The data sensors module is the technical aspect of the interface. Displaying barring direction, speed rates, sonar data, altimeter data, differential gps values, on board temperature, and battery readings and prop speeds. The project is hinging on the ability to monitor, analyze, and react on the data sensors and this module. For now, the data sensors will only report there specific results, but possible upgrades to this project would be to allow the user interface to set the values – having the plane adjust itself to the desired reading. For example, a user sets the altimeter to 50 ft, which then the plan ascend/descend itself to that value while it’s flying.