Biologically inspired flight : the autonomous control of a quadcopter using spiking neural networks

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With the recent increase in the availability and popularity of micro aerial vehicles newmethods for their autonomous control should be investigated. In this project the autonomous control of a flying drone using biologically inspired models is investigated. The models that are investigated for this project are those of the various neurological structures which form the insect's visual system.The models for the processes which take place in an insect's lamina, medulla and lobula and are responsible for contrast enhancement, motion detection andcollision detection are used to build a system which allows the drone to navigate an enclosed testingenvironment without collision. These models are implemented and tested in iqr, a spiking neural network simulator able to interface with external hardware. Additional models for colour extraction and tracking using spiking neural networks are also developed and tested using iqr. The models are combined to form two systems. The first of these systems uses the models from the insect's visual system to create a system that allows the drone to navigate a constrainedtesting environment without collision. The second system uses the models developed for colour tracking and following to allow the drone to follow acolour object that appears in its visual environment. The results show that the system developed for autonomous navigation works successfully every time and that the system developed for tracking acoloured object worked as long as the coloured object is present in the system's field of view. The results show promise for the use of biologically inspired models for autonomous control of vehicles,especially now with the advances being made inparallel computing and neuromorphic computing. Suggestions for topics of investigation that wouldimprove the systems created during this project as well as in this field in general are also given.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University