Ensuring Operation Time Safety of VTOL UAV: Autonomous Emergency Landings in Unknown Terrain

Emre Saldiran*, Mehmet Hasanzade, Aykut Cetin, Gokhan Inalhan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The integration of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) with vertical takeoff and landing capability into commercial and military applications marks a significant advancement in aerial technology, necessitating robust systems for safe operation. Performing autonomous safe landing in emergencies remains a critical concern among other challenges. Emergencies in UAVs can arise from various factors, such as system failures, adverse weather conditions, or mission-critical situations requiring immediate landing. Addressing this challenge, this article presents an autonomous safe landing system designed to provide operation time assurance for UAVs flying over unknown terrains. To achieve this, we partition the point cloud data generated by the LIDAR sensor into grids for safe landing site identification and selection. Our approach requires a low computational load and is validated through tests on various terrain types under real-world conditions while utilizing only the onboard sensing and computational capability of the UAV.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10694-10708
Number of pages15
JournalIEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems
Volume61
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 1965-2011 IEEE.

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