Advancing Autonomy for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

如果我们成功地解决了一些与无人机自主性相关的苛刻问题，下一代无人机(UAV)将不会辜负炒作。实现这些车辆的下一级自主意味着人们和行业将能够部署能够在混乱的未知环境(如森林、城市、建筑等)中安全导航的无人机，同时与人类和其他自动驾驶车辆协作执行复杂的智能任务。在这个研究计划中，我们的目标是在控制和机器人领域做出贡献，以解决小型(微型)无人机的自主性这一关键问题。微型无人机具有便携式、易于控制和高度机动的特点，这使得它们有望在大量复杂的应用场景中自主部署。具体地说，我们将解决与挑战性条件下的本地化、未知环境中的避障以及复杂任务的实时执行相关的问题。该计划概述的研究目标的实现将为全自动无人机在复杂环境中运行同时完成复杂任务的新的和令人兴奋的应用打开大门。这一研究项目也是一个极好的机会，可以在这些有前途的领域培养高素质的专业人员，他们可以成为研究和技术的领导者，支持加拿大的经济增长。

The next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will live up to the hype if we are successful in solving some of the demanding issues related to their autonomy. Achieving the next levels of autonomy for these vehicles signifies that people and industries will be able to deploy UAVs capable of safely navigating in cluttered unknown environments (such as forests, cities, buildings,...,etc) while executing complex and intelligent tasks collaboratively with humans and other autonomous vehicles. In this research program, we aim to contribute to the fields of control and robotics to address the crucial issue of autonomy for small-size (miniature) UAVs. Miniature UAVs are man-portable, easy to control, and highly maneuverable, which puts them on track to be autonomously deployed in a large number of complicated application scenarios. Specifically, we will tackle problems related to localization in challenging conditions, obstacle avoidance in unknown environments, and real-time execution of complex missions. The accomplishment of the research goals outlined in this program will open doors to new and exciting applications for fully autonomous UAVs operating in tangled environments while accomplishing intricate tasks. This research program is also an excellent opportunity to train highly-qualified professionals in these promising fields who can become leaders in research and technology, sustaining Canada's economic growth.