MIPT: Automated All Round View System for Drones

The main articles are:

• What is the Internet of Things (IoT)
• Geoinformation system
• Unmanned aerial vehicle (drone, UAV)

2023: Creation of a prototype of an optical-electronic system of unmanned vehicles

Scientists of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have created a prototype of an optical-electronic system of unmanned vehicles for building maps of the area and subsequent movement along them. This development differs from analogues in that it can do without satellite navigation tools, and in a number of situations - without lidars. In the work we are talking about wheeled equipment, but the system is scalable and applicable on aircraft, as well as in water technology. The university announced this on December 6, 2023.

The equipment is installed on the roof of the vehicle and collects data on the environment. Information from its sensors and optical cameras is supplied to the on-board computer system, where it is analyzed, a three-dimensional map of the terrain is built and the car is localized. Then, based on the data received and the laid down routes, the system plans further actions.

One of the important qualities of this complex is the ability to do without lidars. The latter use short laser pulses to measure distances to objects. They take into account the time it takes for a beam to reach an object and return, and a 3D image of the surrounding space is built on this data. However, such devices are either expensive for mass use or have low accuracy.

Instead, in the proposed prototype, the developers created a system of several multidirectional stereo modules. Each of them consists of several cameras combined into stereo pairs. These devices capture images from different angles, subsequently building a three-dimensional model. The design and composition of the system make it possible to control the space surrounding the drone. Also, using the system, it is possible to build a map of the area, determine the location of the vehicle in it, analyze the information received and build a further trajectory of the car, explained Dmitry Gavrilov, head of the Fiztech School of Radio Engineering and Computer Technology at MIPT.

He added that data processing is carried out in real time and that such a controlled movement can be carried out without external navigation means and without the presence of an infrastructure network - road markings or special fences. This allows the use of unmanned equipment in unfamiliar or unprepared terrain. For example, in quarries for mining, in agricultural work.

We continue to work on unmanned vehicles, but we are not going the classic way, where the Internet, GLONASS and other auxiliary complexes are used, but we make a system that is capable of navigating only by video image. This is useful in places where there is no access to satellite navigation, for example, under the roof, where high-precision lidars or navigation receivers cannot be used due to their high cost or the peculiarities of the concept of the product as a whole, - said Dmitry Gavrilov.

At the same time, the authors emphasized that the developed solution is a modular design, which makes it possible to use it on various types of equipment - from small robotic rovers, for example, delivery vehicles, to large trucks or combines.

It is also important that the system allows you to build three-dimensional maps of various types of localities. For example, indoors, in mines, or in open space. In the future, it is possible to release versions adapted to work in conditions of limited visibility - equipped with thermal imagers, radars and other sensors, depending on the specific setting of the task. Experimental work on combining data from different sensors has already been carried out.