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Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are going to be a major aspect for upcoming aerospace research, especially for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS).  While many view UASs as tools for spying and warfare, they have a significant appeal as a remote sensing and actuation platform for all sorts of domestic applications, civilian and commercial. We got FAA CoA! (COA site, driving map) See our most recent DATA DRONE news story (Fox 26) and our vision on DATA DRONE VALLEY. Please also see our new educational outreach efforts (ESL UAV Team) and our new playground in UC NRS (http://nrs.ucop.edu/) under our 2nd FAA CoA. We now have totally 6 active FAA COAs. You might wish to check our UAS papers, theses, and our latest tutorial workshop (intro ppts) offered at ICUAS14. GoogleScholar or ResearchGate has more.

 

Riparian Mapping Imagery

At the MESA Lab, we develop UASs for primarily civil remote sensing applications that can help in a variety of fields, including precision agriculture, water management and environmental development.

Research emphasis

  • Human factors / ADS-B / GBSAA / Airworthiness / UAS2NAS integration
  • Personal remote sensing / Multi-UAV swarm sensing / Flying sensors / Flying actuators
  • UAS-enabled CPS (cyber-physical systems)
  • Print-n-Fly / fault-tolerant flight control / integrity-aware flight / PbD
  • Application domains: civilian applications, all considered with emphasis on precision ag, environment monitoring, natural resource management and other aspects linked to sustainability. Currently, we focus on crop stress early detection, optimal irrigation management, optimal cropdusting for pest management, and soil salinity.
  • Undergraduate research experience, education and outreach. (Our brand-new ESL program since Spring 2014. UAV - team site)
  • "DRONE MATH" defined!

Recent Publications (To see all our UAS papers, click here) 

  • Jason Knight, Brendan Smith and YangQuan Chen. An Essay on Unmanned Aerial Systems Insurance and Risk Assessment. Accepted by The 6th SUAVTA (Small UAV Techniques and Applications) of IEEE MESA 2014, Italy. PDF
  • Austin M. Jensen, Mac McKee and YangQuan Chen. “Procedures for Processing Thermal Images Using Low-Cost Micro-bolometer Cameras for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems”. IEEE IGARSS 2014 - International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Québec City, Canada. July 13th – July 18th, 2014. (to appear)
  • Jensen AM, Geller DK, Chen YQ. Monte Carlo Simulation Analysis of Tagged Fish Radio Tracking Performance by Swarming Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Fractional Order Potential Fields. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems [Internet]. 2013 . Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10846-013-9949-9
  • Coopmans C, Jensen AM, Chen YQ. Fractional-Order Complementary Filters for Small Unmanned Aerial System Navigation. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems [Internet]. 2013 . Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10846-013-9915-6
  • Hoffer NV, Coopmans C, Jensen AM, Chen YQ. A Survey and Categorization of Small Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System Identification. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems [Internet]. 2013 . Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10846-013-9931-6
  • Han J, Di L, Coopmans C, Chen YQ. Pitch Loop Control of a VTOL UAV Using Fractional Order Controller. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems [Internet]. 2013 . Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10846-013-9912-9
  • Han J, Chen YQ. Multiple UAV Formations for Cooperative Source Seeking and Contour Mapping of a Radiative Signal Field. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems. 2013.
  • ...
  • Brandon Stark, Brendan Smith, YangQuan Chen. A Guide for Selecting Small Unmanned Aerial Systems for Research-Centric Applications. The 2nd IFAC Workshop on Research, Education and Development of Unmanned Aerial Systems (RED-UAS, 2013. November 20-22, 2013, Compiegne, France
  • Brandon Stark, Sean Rider, YangQuan Chen. Optimal Pest Management by Networked Unmanned Cropdusters in Precision Agriculture: A Cyber-Physical System Approach. The 2nd IFAC Workshop on Research, Education and Development of Unmanned Aerial Systems (RED-UAS, 2013. November 20-22, 2013, Compiegne, France
  • Stark, B., Chen, Y.Q.  "Iterative Design Towards Improved Fault Tolerance: A Framework for Improved SUAS Airworthiness", Health Management, Fault-tolerant Control, and Cooperative Control of Unmanned Aircraft, ECC 2013, Organizers: Youmin Zhang, Camille Alain Rabbath, YangQuan Chen, Christopher Edwards, Cameron Fulford, Hugh H.-T. Liu, Liang Tang, Didier Theilliol, and Antonios Tsourdos, July 16, 2013, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 9 Austin Jensen*, YangQuan Chen. “Tracking Tagged Fish With Swarming Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Fractional Order Potential Fields and Kalman Filtering” The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013.
  • 25 Austin Jensen*, Cal Coopmans, YangQuan Chen. “Basics and Guidelines of Complementary Filters for Small UAS Navigation”  The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013. 
  • 138 Jinlu Han, Long Di, Cal Coopmans, YangQuan Chen*. “Fractional Order Controller for Pitch Loop Control of a VTOL UAV”  The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013.
  • 139 Peter Ferrell, Brendan Smith, Brandon Stark, YangQuan Chen*. “Dynamic Flight Modeling of a Multi-Mode Flying Wing Quadrotor” The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013. 
  • 141 Brandon Stark, Brennan Stevenson, Vibhor Jain, YangQuan Chen*. “Implementation of ADS-B for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems: Case Study and Regulatory Practices”  The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013. 
  • 145 Nathan Hoffer, Cal Coopmans, Austin Jensen, YangQuan Chen*. “Small Low Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System Identification: A Survey and Catagorization”  The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013. 
  • 157 Jinlu Han, YangQuan Chen*. “Cooperative Contour Mapping of a Diffusive Signal Field by formations of Multiple UAVs”     The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013. 
  • 158 Cal Coopmans*, Austin Jensen, YangQuan Chen. “Fractional-Order Complementary Filter for Small Unmanned Aerial System” The 2013 International conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICUAS'13, Atlanta, GA, May 28-31, 2013. 

DATA-DRONE News @ MESA LAB:

Last updated: 11/3/2013; 1/28/2014. 11/2/2014.

 

UAS on launcher (a) and in flight (b)

Thermal Imagery collected by UAS

See Dr. Chen's 2011 UAS R&D ANNUAL REPORT. CSOIS Robotics Overview 1998-2004 (Kevin L. Moore).