Design and implementation of a quadcopter with application in computer vision

Abstract

Initially targeted only at military purposes, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have become more versatile, being used today in many civilian applications in remote sensing and surveillance. This project proposes the construction of an autonomous quadcopter with small dimensions and low cost. A quadcopter is an aerial vehicle lifted by four rotors in a configuration that combines mechanical simplicity and versatility of operation. The design and construction of an autonomous quadcopter involve multidisciplinary expertise in areas such as physics, engineering, control theory, and computing. Therefore, this project can significantly complement the scientific training of the candidate, besides contributing to the development and dissemination of the techniques involved in the construction of autonomous aerial vehicles. It is intended that the vehicle, equipped with sensors and cameras for images and video acquisition, will become a platform for research in Computer Vision and other areas of Computing, aimed at applications such as surveillance and aerial photography.(AU)