Obstacle Avoidance

The purpose of this research is to develop an obstacle avoidance system for use on small, fixed-wing Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In order to detect and avoid obstacles, computer based vision algorithms will be implemented with an automatic flight control system. Images of obstacles are captured using forward facing, externally mounted cameras. Obstacles will include moving and non-moving objects within the flight path of the UAV, which will be detected through the use of optical flow and feature-tracking methods. 1. Motivation and Goal