Development of a Cost-efficient Autonomous MAV for an Unstructured Indoor Environment

TL;DR

This paper presents a cost-effective autonomous micro aerial vehicle designed for indoor rescue and surveillance tasks, utilizing off-the-shelf components and sensors for stability and navigation in unstructured environments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, low-cost quadrocopter platform with integrated sensors enabling autonomous indoor navigation in unstructured settings.

Findings

Successfully demonstrated autonomous indoor navigation

Achieved stable flight with off-the-shelf components

Cost-effective design suitable for rescue operations

Abstract

Performing rescuing and surveillance operations with autonomous ground and aerial vehicles become more and more apparent task. Involving unmanned robot systems allows making these operations more efficient, safe and reliable especially in hazardous areas. This work is devoted to the development of a cost-efficient micro aerial vehicle in a quadrocopter shape for developmental purposes within indoor scenarios. It has been constructed with off-the-shelf components available for mini helicopters. Additional sensors and electronics are incorporated into this aerial vehicle to stabilize its flight behavior and to provide a capability of an autonomous navigation in a partially unstructured indoor environment.