Autonomous Navigation for Multirotor UAVs (Quadcopter Drone)

Multirotor aerial vehicles are commonly used today, with applications ranging from product delivery to defense systems. These devices are often a complex interlink of various components and must be controlled manually by an experienced pilot using a radio controlled transmitter; issuing flight commands to the copter. Furthermore, current drone systems do not commercially offer a platform for automatic obstacle avoidance. The concept proposed in this thesis is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system that is capable of travelling a set of way points without any manual guidance. This eliminates the proficiency and the prior training required to control a copter. A ground control station is set up on a laptop or a smartphone in which the various way points for the desired location is set. The copter then travels on its own by obtaining the data from its various on-board sensors and intelligently maneuvering itself through the various paths. The proposed system is also a cost effective method when compared to its commercial counterparts available in the market. The quadcopter is also capable of tracking a single object using an on-board camera system.