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A Multi-stage Precision Landing Method for Autonomous eVTOL Based on Multi-marker Joint Localization

  • Senwei Xiang
  • , Minxiang Ye
  • , Shiqiang Zhu
  • , Jason Gu
  • , Anhuan Xie*
  • , Zehua Men
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • Zhejiang Lab
  • Dalhousie University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) has drawn more and more attention from home and abroad in recent years. It is believed autonomous eVTOL will create a new era of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). To autonomous eVTOL, precision landing is an extremely critical operation for it directly affects flight safety. In this paper, we analyze the special issues an eVTOL will encounter when it lands in the UAM applications. A multi-stage precision landing method based on multi-marker joint localization is proposed accordingly. Our method contains three key elements: a compatible vertiport with multiple visual markers; an accurate, fast detection and localization algorithm for the vertiport and a multi-stage landing strategy. We implement our method on an eVTOL prototype named ZJ-Copter developed by Zhejiang Lab. A series of real-world experiments have been conducted to validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method. Experiment results show that our method works well in real-world scenarios for autonomous eVTOL without GPS signal during landing process. The positioning accuracy is less than 0.1m (altitude < 10m), while the landing accuracy is less than 0.5m.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2022 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2022
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages2015-2020
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781665481090
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022
Externally publishedYes
Event2022 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2022 - Jinghong, China
Duration: 5 Dec 20229 Dec 2022

Publication series

Name2022 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2022

Conference

Conference2022 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2022
Country/TerritoryChina
CityJinghong
Period5/12/229/12/22

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