Predator Drone (UAV) and samples of reflections

MSc dissertation proposal 2014/2015

Prediction of Sun Reflections on the Sea Surface for UAVs

Introduction:

This project is framed on an ADI project grant whose aim is to use UAVs for coastal surveillance. It involves Portuguese research universities and SMEs.

Objectives:

This project has the dual goal of minimizing the consequences of sun reflections in target detection as well as using the sun for navigation purposes. The work will involve building a working prototype which will be tested on real data obtained with a UAV flying over the ocean.

Detailed Description:

The scenario for this work is a UAV over the ocean detecting targets on the water surface. Unfortunately, surface reflections by the sun acts as an important noise source which we intend to better characterize.

On a first approximation, one can consider the ocean as a reflective planar surface, and with ephemeris information we infer the position of the main reflection relative to the UAV. This region can then be suppressed in target detection applications. However, a more detailed analysis will obtain a detailed statistical model for the reflections due to small wave oscilations around the main reflection. These statistical properties will be fed back into target detection algorithms to improve detection rates.

As a second goal, we hope to integrate the observed sun position and reflection with vehicle position information provided by onboard sensors in order to guarantee a consistent vehicle-sun-horizon reference frame, of vital importance for this detection task.

Expected Results:

The student will develop skills in computer vision and signal filtering. This work will be integrated in a multidisciplinary research project involving the Portuguese navy/air force and SMEs. The final result must consist of in the demonstration of an application illustrating the successful achievement of the theoretical and practical aspects of the work.

More MSc dissertation proposals on Computer and Robot Vision in:

http://omni.isr.ist.utl.pt/~jag