Landing and path planning using three dimentional terrain for a unmanned ground vehicle transported by an unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

When a volcano erupts, it is too dangerous for humans to observe the volcano from close to it. Therefore, a UAV-UGV robotic observation system was developed by the authors’ research group. In this system, UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) is transported to a landing point by UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), and the UGV moves to observation points by remote operation. The effectiveness of the system was confirmed in actual field environments. However, during such remote operations, the UGV may turn over or get stuck because a suitable landing place and path for the UGV have not planned. To solve the problem, in this research, we propose a landing point planning and path planning for UGV using three-dimensional terrains to prevent UGV’s turning over or getting stuck during its mission. As a result of landing point planning with real environment data, the landing point was flat enough and no vegetation. Also, as the result of path planning, the path was in the travelable area, and the distance to the obstacle was enough for safe traversal. Therefore, by the proposed method, safe landing and moving of UGV is realized without overturning or getting stuck.