Fuzzy Logic Controllers for navigation and control of AR. Drone using Microsoft Kinect

Abstract

This work demonstrates the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in a robotic Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) mission. An intuitive and natural control methodology that can be universally applied to different types of unmanned rotary wing aerial vehicles is developed. The control system encompasses a Windows computer system and a 3-Dimensional depth-sensing camera, in particular the Microsoft Kinect. Human hand gestures are captured, filtered and translated into flight manoeuvres for the UAV. The filtering involves the application of Fuzzy Logic Controllers, which incorporate the use of several different input variables for the control of either the velocity or position of the UAV. The developed system is implemented and tested on an AR Drone.