DroneWiS: Automated Simulation Testing of small Unmanned Aerial Systems in Realistic Windy Conditions

TL;DR

DroneWiS enhances sUAS simulation testing by integrating CFD-based realistic wind conditions, enabling developers to better assess and improve drone resilience in challenging environments.

Contribution

Introduction of DroneWiS, a CFD-based wind simulation component for the DroneReqValidator platform, advancing realistic wind testing in sUAS simulation environments.

Findings

Enables automatic simulation of realistic windy conditions using CFD.

Provides deeper insights into sUAS navigation in challenging wind environments.

Improves safety and reliability testing for sUAS in real-world scenarios.

Abstract

The continuous evolution of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) demands advanced testing methodologies to ensure their safe and reliable operations in the real-world. To push the boundaries of sUAS simulation testing in realistic environments, we previously developed the DroneReqValidator (DRV) platform, allowing developers to automatically conduct simulation testing in digital twin of earth. In this paper, we present DRV 2.0, which introduces a novel component called DroneWiS (Drone Wind Simulation). DroneWiS allows sUAS developers to automatically simulate realistic windy conditions and test the resilience of sUAS against wind. Unlike current state-of-the-art simulation tools such as Gazebo and AirSim that only simulate basic wind conditions, DroneWiS leverages Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to compute the unique wind flows caused by the interaction of wind with the objects in the environment such as buildings and uneven terrains. This simulation capability provides deeper insights to developers about the navigation capability of sUAS in challenging and realistic windy conditions. DroneWiS equips sUAS developers with a powerful tool to test, debug, and improve the reliability and safety of sUAS in real-world. A working demonstration is available at https://youtu.be/khBHEBST8Wc