C-ZUPT: Stationarity-Aided Aerial Hovering

TL;DR

This paper introduces C-ZUPT, a novel method for aerial navigation that uses controlled zero-velocity updates to improve inertial-based positioning without surface contact, enhancing stability and energy efficiency.

Contribution

The work presents a new C-ZUPT approach for aerial systems that identifies quasi-static states to provide accurate velocity updates, reducing drift and control effort.

Findings

C-ZUPT significantly reduces inertial drift in aerial navigation.

It enhances hover stability and energy efficiency for resource-constrained drones.

Validation shows improved navigation accuracy and control performance.

Abstract

Autonomous systems across diverse domains have underscored the need for drift-resilient state estimation. Although satellite-based positioning and cameras are widely used, they often suffer from limited availability in many environments. As a result, positioning must rely solely on inertial sensors, leading to rapid accuracy degradation over time due to sensor biases and noise. To counteract this, alternative update sources-referred to as information aiding-serve as anchors of certainty. Among these, the zero-velocity update (ZUPT) is particularly effective in providing accurate corrections during stationary intervals, though it is restricted to surface-bound platforms. This work introduces a controlled ZUPT (C-ZUPT) approach for aerial navigation and control, independent of surface contact. By defining an uncertainty threshold, C-ZUPT identifies quasi-static equilibria to deliver precise velocity updates to the estimation filter. Extensive validation confirms that these opportunistic, high-quality updates significantly reduce inertial drift and control effort. As a result, C-ZUPT mitigates filter divergence and enhances navigation stability, enabling more energy-efficient hovering and substantially extending sustained flight-key advantages for resource-constrained aerial systems.