A multimodal MAV for situational awareness in near-earth environments

Small unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) such as AeroVironments Puma, are designed for military support at the tactical level. These miniature UAVs can be rapidly deployed via a hand or bungee launch. Most commercial unmanned aircraft currently in service are autonomous in the sense that they can be programmed to follow GPS waypoint routes and can be updated in mid-flight. Typical missions include surveillance, reconnaissance, bomb damage assessment, and search and rescue. Although most missions are carried out at extremely low altitudes (e.g. 20100 meters), the UAV flight control systems do not have collision avoidance capabilities. Furthermore, flight in these low altitude or near-Earth environments, such as urban areas and mountainous terrain, often degrade GPS signals.