Autonomous track and follow UAV for aerodynamic analysis of vehicles

Abstract EN

This work addresses the issue of finding an optimal flight zone for a side-by-side tracking and following Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) adhering to space-restricting factors brought upon by a dynamic Vector Field Extraction (VFE) algorithm.

The VFE algorithm demands a relatively perpendicular field of view of the UAV to the tracked vehicle, thereby enforcing the space-restricting factors which are distance, angle and altitude.

The objective of the UAV is to perform side-by-side tracking and following of a lightweight ground vehicle while acquiring high quality video of tufts attached to the side of the tracked vehicle.

The recorded video is supplied to the VFE algorithm that produces the positions and deformations of the tufts over time as they interact with the surrounding air, resulting in an airflow model of the tracked vehicle.

The present limitations of wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics simulation suggest the use of a UAV for real world evaluation of the aerodynamic properties of the vehicle’s exterior.

The novelty of the proposed approach is alluded to defining the specific flight zone restricting factors while adhering to the VFE algorithm, where as a result we were capable of formalizing a locally-static and a globally-dynamic geofence attached to the tracked vehicle and enclosing the UAV.