Framework for developing and evaluating MAV control algorithms in a realistic urban setting

An investigation has begun to evaluate the behavior of small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) and micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) flying through an urban setting. This research is focused on a cooperative scenario between a SUAV and MAVs for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Cooperative Operations in UrbaN TERrain (COUNTER) 6.2 research and flight demonstration program. There is great interest in MAV/SUAV use but limited simulation work has been dedicated specifically to issues associated with very small vehicles that cruise at slow speeds near the ground. Development of satisfactory six-degree-of-freedom models of an MAV and SUAV were the first tasks to be tackled, along with the integration of these models into the MultiUAV 2.0 simulation environment. The second task was to model and integrate wind data for complex urban flows into this simulation. This involved creating modules to interface the simulation with CFD results and data obtained through urban airflow experiments. An urban environment for the MAV to fly through was constructed using the geometry of a likely COUNTER flight test location. These basic elements coupled with future cooperative control task assignment and path planning algorithms complete this engineering simulation.