Sensor Fusion Applied to Autonomous Aerial Refueling

DOI: 10.2514/1.34589 A methodology for performing sensor fusion using differential Global Positioning System receivers, inertial measurements, wireless communication, and electro-optical measurements is presented. An estimation structure basedonanextendedKalman filterisdevelopedtoestimate thepreciserelativeposition,velocity,andattitudeoftwo aircraft flying incloseproximity. Theprojectisfocusedonthedevelopmentofthismethodologyforautomaticaerial refueling in which a boom control system uses the output of the sensor fusion to guide the boom into the receiver receptacle. Results from a real-time, hardware-in-the-loop demonstration are presented which show estimator performance and feedback control capability on a scaled model.