• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.3
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• pp.363-373
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• 2023

Forest biomass surveys are regularly conducted to assess and manage forests as carbon sinks. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a remote sensing technology, has attracted considerable attention, as it allows for objective acquisition of forest structure information with minimal labor. In this study, we propose a method for estimating overstory and understory biomass in forest stands using backpack laser scanning (BPLS) and unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (UAV-LS), and assessed its accuracy. For overstory biomass, we analyzed the accuracy of BPLS and UAV-LS in estimating diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height. For understory biomass, we developed a multiple regression model for estimating understory biomass using the best combination of vertical structure metrics extracted from the BPLS data. The results indicated that BPLS provided accurate estimations of DBH (R² =0.92), but underestimated tree height (R² =0.63, bias=-5.56 m), whereas UAV-LS showed strong performance in estimating tree height (R² =0.91). For understory biomass, metrics representing the mean height of the points and the point density of the fourth layer were selected to develop the model. The cross-validation result of the understory biomass estimation model showed a coefficient of determination of 0.68. The study findings suggest that the proposed overstory and understory biomass survey methods using BPLS and UAV-LS can effectively replace traditional biomass survey methods.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.67 no.2
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• pp.314-324
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• 2018

This paper proposes a linear distributed target tracking filter for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) sharing their passive sensor measurements through communication channels. Different from the conventional nonlinear filtering schemes, the distributed passive target tracking problem is newly formulated within the framework of a linear robust state estimation theory incorporated with a linear uncertain measurement equation including the coordinate transform uncertainty. To effectively cope with the performance degradation due to the coordinate transform uncertainty, a linear consistent robust Kalman filter(CRKF) theory is devised and applied for designing a distributed passive target tracking filter. Through the simulations for typical UAV surveillance mission, the superior performance of the proposed method over the existing schemes of distributed passive target tracking are demonstrated.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.1539-1548
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• 2016

Beamforming technique at the ground station is known to be effective in obtaining coverage extension or SNR gain for communication with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). When a UAV moves, periodic beam tracking is necessary to maintain beam gain. In order to track beams for multiple UAVs, the ground station needs to receive different preamble sequences from multiple UAVs. In this paper, a preamble sequence design technique is proposed for beam tracking in a GMSK-based communication system with multiple UAVs. Hadamard sequence is considered for the design of preamble sequence due to its ideal cross-correlation property. A preamble sequence appropriate for a GMSK communication system with multiple UAVs is proposed after analyzing the properties of received signal in a GMSK system with the input of Hadamard sequence.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1392-1413
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• 2022

In order to meet the rapid development of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication needs, cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) helps to identify unused spectrum for the primary users (PU). However, multi-UAV mode (MUM) requires the large communication resource in a cognitive UAV network, resulting in a severe decline of spectrum efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE) and increase of energy consumption (EC). On this account, we extend the traditional 2D spectrum space to 3D spectrum space for the UAV network scenario and enable UAVs to proceed with spectrum sensing behaviors in this paper, and propose a novel multi-slot mode (MSM), in which the sensing slot is divided into multiple mini-slots within a UAV. Then, the CSS process is developed into a composite hypothesis testing problem. Furthermore, to improve SE and EE and reduce EC, we use the sequential detection to make a global decision about the PU channel status. Based on this, we also consider a truncation scenario of the sequential detection under the sensing delay constraint, and further derive a closed-form performance expression, in terms of the CSS performance and cooperative efficiency. At last, the simulation results verify that the performance and cooperative efficiency of MSM outperforms that of the traditional MUM in a low EC.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.51-64
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• 2009

A location tracking sensor such as GPS, INS, Radar, and optical equipments is used in tracking Maneuvering Targets with a multi-sensor, and such systems are used to track, detect, and control UAV, guided missile, and spaceship. Until now, Most of the studies related to tracking Maneuvering Targets are on fusing multiple Radars, or adding a supplementary sensor to INS and GPS. However, A study is required to change the degree of application in fusions since the system property and error property are different from sensors. In this paper, we perform the error analysis of the sensor properties by adding a ground radar to GPS and INS for improving the tracking performance by multi-sensor fusion, and suggest the tracking algorithm that improves the precision and stability by changing the sensor probability of each sensor according to the error. For evaluation, we extract the altitude values in a simulation for the trajectory of UAV and apply the suggested algorithm to carry out the performance analysis. In this study, we change the weight of the evaluated values according to the degree of error between the navigation information of each sensor to improve the precision of navigation information, and made it possible to have a strong tracking which is not affected by external purposed environmental change and disturbance.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.264-273
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• 2010

In this work, autonomous formation flight tests of multiple UAVs are experimentally studied. After a guidance and control system for a UAV is designed and tested, PID formation controller for follower UAV is tested using longitudinal and lateral distance feedback. It is shown that more stable and efficient formation guidance system is obtained by using position and attitude of the leader aircraft, which is exploited to calculate virtual waypoint for follower. In order to improve transient response during turn, part of roll command of the leader is added to the guidance command. Finally, autonomous formation flight test results of 3 UAVs are shown by using the best guidance algorithm suggested.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.662-674
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• 2017

This paper describes the multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) process of a tailless unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) using global variable fidelity aerodynamic analysis. The developed tailless UAV design framework combines multiple disciplines that are based on low-fidelity and empirical analysis methods. An automated high-fidelity aerodynamic analysis is efficiently integrated into the MDO framework. Global variable fidelity modeling algorithm manages the use of the high-fidelity analysis to enhance the overall accuracy of the MDO by providing the initial sampling of the design space with iterative refinement of the approximation model in the neighborhood of the optimum solution. A design formulation was established considering a specific aerodynamic, stability and control design features of a tailless aircraft configuration with a UCAV specific mission profile. Design optimization problems with low-fidelity and variable fidelity analyses were successfully solved. The objective function improvement is 14.5% and 15.9% with low and variable fidelity optimization respectively. Results also indicate that low-fidelity analysis overestimates the value of lift-to-drag ratio by 3-5%, while the variable fidelity results are equal to the high-fidelity analysis results by algorithm definition.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2015

Unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are getting popular not only as a private usage for the aerial photograph but military usage for the surveillance, reconnaissance and supply missions. For an UAV to successfully achieve these kind of missions, geolocation (localization) must be implied to track an interested target or fly by reference. In this research, we adopted multi-sensor fusion (MSF) algorithm to increase the accuracy of the geolocation and verified the algorithm using two multicopter UAVs. One UAV is equipped with an optical camera, and another UAV is equipped with an optical camera and a laser range finder. Throughout the experiment, we have obtained measurements about a fixed ground target and estimated the target position by a series of coordinate transformations and sequential Kalman filter. The result showed that the MSF has better performance in estimating target location than the case of using single sensor. Moreover, the experimental result implied that multi-sensor geolocation algorithm is able to have further improvements in localization accuracy and feasibility of other complicated applications such as moving target tracking and multiple target tracking.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.274-282
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• 2011

This paper is focused on dynamic modeling and control system design as well as vision based collision avoidance for multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Multi-rotor UAVs are defined as rotary-winged UAVs with multiple rotors. These multi-rotor UAVs can be utilized in various military situations such as surveillance and reconnaissance. They can also be used for obtaining visual information from steep terrains or disaster sites. In this paper, a quad-rotor model is introduced as well as its control system, which is designed based on a proportional-integral-derivative controller and vision-based collision avoidance control system. Additionally, in order for a UAV to navigate safely in areas such as buildings and offices with a number of obstacles, there must be a collision avoidance algorithm installed in the UAV's hardware, which should include the detection of obstacles, avoidance maneuvering, etc. In this paper, the optical flow method, one of the vision-based collision avoidance techniques, is introduced, and multi-rotor UAV's collision avoidance simulations are described in various virtual environments in order to demonstrate its avoidance performance.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.252-259
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• 2011

This paper is focused on dynamic modeling and control system design as well as vision based collision avoidance for multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Multi-rotor UAVs are defined as rotary-winged UAVs with multiple rotors. These multi-rotor UAVs can be utilized in various military situations such as surveillance and reconnaissance. They can also be used for obtaining visual information from steep terrains or disaster sites. In this paper, a quad-rotor model is introduced as well as its control system, which is designed based on a proportional-integral-derivative controller and vision-based collision avoidance control system. Additionally, in order for a UAV to navigate safely in areas such as buildings and offices with a number of obstacles, there must be a collision avoidance algorithm installed in the UAV's hardware, which should include the detection of obstacles, avoidance maneuvering, etc. In this paper, the optical flow method, one of the vision-based collision avoidance techniques, is introduced, and multi-rotor UAV's collision avoidance simulations are described in various virtual environments in order to demonstrate its avoidance performance.