Location Determination of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in a GPS-Denied, Hazard-Cluttered Indoor Environment

This paper describes an algorithm used for real-time location determination of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in a GPS-denied, hazard-cluttered indoor environment. The UAV designed is based on the guidelines established by the Ohio Autonomous Aerial Vehicle Competition (AAVC) 2014. Real-time data is obtained from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and an onboard laser system. Each source is first filtered using a Kalman filter and then fused together to obtain the position of the UAV. This output aids the UAV maneuvering through the obstacles and in estimating the location of a target to complete the required tasks.