Modeling and simulation for small autonomous helicopter development

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and The Boston University have cooperated to develop an Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) that competed in and won the 1996 International Aerial Robotics Competition, sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems, International (AUVSI). Development of the vehicle continues to support ongoing research in the area of autonomous systems. A simulation capability has been developed to support the design, development, and test of the navigation, control, guidance, and vision processing sub-systems, as well as human-machine interfaces and procedures. The use of the simulation described in this paper is identified as a key factor in the success of the program at the competition and operations since.