From Low Level Control to Path Planning
A Tutorial on Autopilot Design for Small and Miniature UAVs

Randy Beard
Brigham Young University 

In this half-day tutorial session we will overview an architecture for autopilot design for small and miniature unmanned air systems.  We will briefly describe the 6-DOF dynamic model of the system, as well as lower order linear and nonlinear design models used for autopilot design.  We will describe inner loop design including roll, pitch, heading, airspeed, and altitude hold loops.  We will describe models for common sensors on small UAVs and techniques for estimating the state of the vehicle using these sensors.  Higher level guidance algorithm that track straight-line and orbit paths will be discussed.  We will also discuss switching schemes that facilitate motion along more complicated paths.  Finally, simple path planning schemes through moderately complex terrain will be described, and the interaction with lower-level loops will be discussed. 

Biography

Randal W. Beard received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, in 1991, the M.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1993, the M.S. degree in mathematics in 1994, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering in 1995, all from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.  Since 1996, he has been with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, where he is currently a professor.  In 1997 and 1998, he was a Summer Faculty Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.  In 2006-2007 he was a National Council Research Fellow at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Munitions Directorate, Eglin AFB, FL.   His research interests include guidance and control, autonomous systems, and multiple vehicle coordination and control with particular emphasis on micro air vehicles.