Towards a localisation system for multiple micro-aerial vehicles

Abstract

To date one of the hardest challenges in swarm robotics is the ability for each robot to determine its location in a given space. This challenge is much more evident in aerial vehicles, where a lack of localisation renders the vehicle unstable. This dissertation focuses on the design of a localisation system that is able to withstand multiple devices. Furthermore, it is within the aim of this dissertation to step away from complicated systems which were previously used to locate such devices and ideally provide a more feasible option. This project initiates the design and implementation of the various blocks necessary to obtain such a localisation system. This involves the design of a minute embedded system which will be placed onto the micro-aerial vehicle and is required to be extremely lightweight. Furthermore, various electronic devices and techniques such as microcontroller design, FPGA design and PCB design were used to build the blocks required by the localisation system. Following testing, the results obtained, verified that the proposed design is a viable option for the localisation requirement.