Terrain aided multirotor recovery using laser range-finders

This abstract presents a body-fixed laser rangefinder-based (LRF) recovery approach for a multirotor in a satellite-navigation-deprived environment. The goal is to return the multirotor safely to its takeoff site after a loss of satellite navigation signal. During normal operation, when the satellite signal is still available, a terrain model is constructed using data gathered by several body-fixes LRFs. After the signal loss, the multirotor navigates to its takeoff area using the LFR readings and the stored terrain model within a terrain-Aided navigation-inspired approach. The proposed concept was validated using a computer simulation utilizing a realistic model of the multirotor and scanned terrain data from the TAAL Volcano area. A detailed LRF configuration and altitude profile characterization study was performed to identify the preferred system parameters. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted for a statistical evaluation of the system, showing its promising performance.