UAV Haptic Interface for Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance

UAV Haptic Interface for Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance: Using the Velocity Obstacle method for haptic cues

Piessens, Tom (TU Delft Aerospace Engineering)

van Paassen, M.M. (mentor)
Mulder, Max (graduation committee)
de Winter, J.C.F. (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Aerospace Engineering | Control & Simulation

2019-05-24

Teleoperation is by nature a deprivation of the senses, which can pose a handicap when operating in an unknown and even dynamic en- vironment. Noticing moving obstacles in such a situation can prove to be quite difficult and the UAV runs the risk of colliding with them. Previous work designed a shared control haptic interface based on the artificial forcefield method to help navigating in a static environment. This interface was evaluated for its usability in a dynamic environ- ment where linearly moving obstacles were present. Offline simulations showed that the previous interface would have difficulty in preventing collisions with moving obstacles. A new method was developed based on the velocity obstacles method. The new design supports the opera- tor by using the haptic side stick to guide the operator out of a socalled forbidden velocity zone. After offline tests showed that the developed algorithm was capable of avoiding both static and dynamic obstacles, it was implemented in a real-time simulator and investigated further with human-in-the-loop experiments. An initial test in a simulator with five participants shows promising results in avoiding sudden appearing ob- stacles and moving obstacles in the open field. The controller however makes maneuvering in tight spaces hard for the operator.

Haptics
HMI design
obstacle avoidance
Shared Control
UAV
Velocity Obstacle

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Student theses

master thesis

© 2019 Tom Piessens