Computer Vision Control of Vectron® Blackhawk Flying Saucer Louis Lesch ECE 539 Computer Vision II

Overview Vectron® Blackhawk Flying Saucer Flying toy Inherently unstable Human controlled Cool if automatically controlled

Problems with Hovering If human controlled –Mentally taxing –Requires experience –No time for other mission objectives If computer controlled –Onboard circuitry is heavy –Requires bigger / more powerful vehicle for same mission objectives

Solution to Control Soccerbot Plus Integrated Computer Vision Camera Integrated Servo Controllers

Joining Soccerbot to Saucer Soccerbot captures image of scene Searches for sphere on saucer Drives servos connected to joysticks corrects position and depth of sphere Possibly angle of attack (explained later)

Plan of Action-Completed Work Concentrate on hardware first –√ Attaching ball to saucer –√ Building fixture for controller / soccerbot / servos / illumination source –√ Getting downloading software to work Problems –Ball or Balloon too heavy / too much moment of inertia –Getting the craft steady before takeoff

Plan of Action-Remaining Work Concentrate on software next –Scanning for ball based on soccer competition software –Making appropriate flight corrections Problems –Soccer competition software very hard to understand – few comments, hard to compile –Had to rely on Chris Yeager’s work

Conclusion Difficult project in limited time Success measured in time aloft per trial Lingering question of fast enough program cycle time, servo lag acceptable Most of mechanical problems overcome Recent revelations may lead to successful completion of software Questions? Demonstration of manual flight