A Robust Real-Time Vision System for Autonomous Cargo Transfer by an Unmanned Helicopter

Motivated by the 2013 International UAV Innovation Grand Prix, we design and implement a real-time vision system for an unmanned helicopter autonomously transferring cargoes between two platforms. In the competition, four cargoes are initially placed inside four circles on one platform, respectively. They are required to be transferred one by one into the four circles on the other platform. This paper presents the core algorithms of the proposed vision system on ellipse detection, ellipse tracking, and single-circle-based position estimation. Experiments and the great success of our team in the competition have verified the efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of the algorithms. Our team was ranked first in the final round competition.