Bridging the Gap between Simulation and Real Autonomous UAV Flights in Industrial Applications

The utilization of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has increased rapidly due to their ability to perform a variety of tasks, including industrial inspection. Conducting testing with actual flights within industrial facilities proves to be both expensive and hazardous, posing risks to the...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Perez-Segui, Rafael, Arias-Perez, Pedro, Melero-Deza, Javier, Fernández Cortizas, Miguel, Pérez Saura, David, Campoy, Pascual
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2023
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositório:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/369214
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/369214
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:ROS 2
photovoltaic plant
industrial inspections
Aerostack2
aerial robotics
wind turbine
UAV
Sim2Real
Descrição
Resumo:The utilization of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has increased rapidly due to their ability to perform a variety of tasks, including industrial inspection. Conducting testing with actual flights within industrial facilities proves to be both expensive and hazardous, posing risks to the system, the facilities, and their personnel. This paper presents an innovative and reliable methodology for developing such applications, ensuring safety and efficiency throughout the process. It involves a staged transition from simulation to reality, wherein various components are validated at each stage. This iterative approach facilitates error identification and resolution, enabling subsequent real flights to be conducted with enhanced safety after validating the remainder of the system. Furthermore, this article showcases two use cases: wind turbine inspection and photovoltaic plant inspection. By implementing the suggested methodology, these applications were successfully developed in an efficient and secure manner.