A Ground Control Station for Multi- Vehicular Data Visualization and Control MICHAEL HEID CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA POMONA, CALIFORNIA MAY 3, 2014
Overview Research Objectives Motivations Hardware Software Ground Control Station (GCS) Components Conclusion Future Work Acknowledgments Questions 2
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
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
Hardware XBee-Pro XSC (S3B) Wi-Fi capable hardware Logitech Dual Action Controller Intel i3 @2.4GHz with 4GB RAM 5
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
Software Database SQLite Embedded Simple Simulators FlightGear USARSim 7
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
GUI Trade Study Criteria Qt Java Swing Windows Presentation Foundation IData wxwidgets GTK+ Learning Curve (10%) 8 9 9 6 10 10 Ease of Use (20%) 10 8 10 8 8 9 Memory Management (8%) 7 9 9 9 6 9 Memory Use Efficiency (8%) 9 7 8 10 8 8 Editor Availability (10%) 10 10 8 2 8 8 Cost (4%) 10 10 10 7 8 9 Cross-platform (20%) 10 9 1 7 7 8 Database Integration (10%) 9 8 9 9 9 8 Other Library Functions (10%) 10 10 10 8 10 9 Total 83 80 74 66 74 78 Weighted total 84.42 79.02 68.04 65.7 73.26 77.58 Total Possible 90 90 90 90 90 90 9
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
Database Trade Study Criteria PostgreSQL MySQL Oracle MSSQL SQLite Cost (10%) 10 10 3 5 10 Compliance (5%) 8 8 6 4 8 Indexing Methods (5%) 8 6 2 4 8 Database Size (10%) 8 6 9 9 8 Documentation (20%) 9 9 10 10 9 Learning Curve (20%) 8 10 6 7 9 Fundamental Features (10%) 7 7 8 6 7 OS Compatibility (20%) 9 10 7 6 10 Total (100%) 67 66 51 51 69 Weighted Total 68 70.4 56 56 71.2 Total Possible 80 80 80 80 80 11
Ground Control Station Components 12
User Interface Main 13
User Interface Main 14
User Interface UAV 15
Communication Overview 16
Implementation Challenges User Interface (UI) Designing an effective and efficient layout Communication Testing the communication methodology General Generating and running tests 17
Accomplishments Receiving messages via radio Actively tracking vehicles that join the network Console display Map integration/vehicle display Overlay sidebar Database integration 18
Current Work Finalizing communication implementation Creating and adding the new iteration GUI and its features Sending waypoint commands 19
Conclusion This GCS meets multiple needs Command and control of multiple vehicles Low-cost (free) Operating system agnostic Mobile Displays mission critical information 20
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
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
Questions? 23