A Ground Control Station for Multi- Vehicular Data Visualization and Control

Transcription

1 A Ground Control Station for Multi- Vehicular Data Visualization and Control MICHAEL HEID CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA POMONA, CALIFORNIA MAY 3, 2014

2 Overview Research Objectives Motivations Hardware Software Ground Control Station (GCS) Components Conclusion Future Work Acknowledgments Questions 2

3 Research Objectives Develop a low-cost (if not free) Ground Control Station (GCS) capable of: Facilitating interoperability between vehicles Display operator-specified and mission critical data Alert operator to possible hazards Log data Operating system agnostic Use for research and projects at Cal Poly and other campuses 3

4 Motivations Role of unmanned vehicles (UVs) is increasing for military and civilian applications Cheaper, simpler, and no hazard to human operators Efficient operations require collaboration between multiple vehicles simultaneously Lack of low cost ground control stations for multi-vehicular control Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) 4

5 Hardware XBee-Pro XSC (S3B) Wi-Fi capable hardware Logitech Dual Action Controller Intel with 4GB RAM 5

6 Software User Interface Qt Cross-platform Extensive library User-friendly GUI creator Geographic Information System ArcGIS Overlay capability Online and offline map tiles Easy to integrate 6

7 Software Database SQLite Embedded Simple Simulators FlightGear USARSim 7

8 GUI Trade Study Motivation Select the optimal Graphical User Interface (GUI) framework for creating the GCS Important criteria (0 does not satisfy 10 satisfies completely) Easy to use/small learning curve Cross-platform Open source/editor availability Method: Personal evaluation/research Conclusion: Qt 8

9 GUI Trade Study Criteria Qt Java Swing Windows Presentation Foundation IData wxwidgets GTK+ Learning Curve (10%) Ease of Use (20%) Memory Management (8%) Memory Use Efficiency (8%) Editor Availability (10%) Cost (4%) Cross-platform (20%) Database Integration (10%) Other Library Functions (10%) Total Weighted total Total Possible

10 Database Trade Study Motivation Select the optimal database for managing data Important criteria (0 does not satisfy 10 satisfies completely) Documentation/support Cross-platform Method: Personal evaluation/research Conclusion: SQLite 10

11 Database Trade Study Criteria PostgreSQL MySQL Oracle MSSQL SQLite Cost (10%) Compliance (5%) Indexing Methods (5%) Database Size (10%) Documentation (20%) Learning Curve (20%) Fundamental Features (10%) OS Compatibility (20%) Total (100%) Weighted Total Total Possible

12 Ground Control Station Components 12

13 User Interface Main 13

14 User Interface Main 14

15 User Interface UAV 15

16 Communication Overview 16

17 Implementation Challenges User Interface (UI) Designing an effective and efficient layout Communication Testing the communication methodology General Generating and running tests 17

18 Accomplishments Receiving messages via radio Actively tracking vehicles that join the network Console display Map integration/vehicle display Overlay sidebar Database integration 18

19 Current Work Finalizing communication implementation Creating and adding the new iteration GUI and its features Sending waypoint commands 19

20 Conclusion This GCS meets multiple needs Command and control of multiple vehicles Low-cost (free) Operating system agnostic Mobile Displays mission critical information 20

21 Future Work Test reliability of mentioned network architecture Simulate command and control of vehicles Developing data analysis algorithms Notify operator if vehicles on collision course Plan path to avoid collision Improve UI 21

22 Acknowledgments Aerospace Engineering Dr. Subodh Bhandari Ajay Bettadapura Electrical and Computer Engineering Scott Boskovich Melissa Buettner Computer Science Dr. Daisy Tang Ohanes Dadian Eric Chi Kevin Friedemann Daniel Hernandez Ethan Ito Calvin Huang 22

23 Questions? 23