Download or read book Maneuver Design and Motion Planning for Agile Fixed wing UAVs written by Joshua Levin and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In recognition of their broad scope of utility, recent years have seen a surge of interest in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). As a result of technological advancements, UAVs have been rapidly expanding into the civilian marketplace. Many of the jobs UAVs have the potential to fill demand high levels of autonomy, and thus the state-of-the-art is constantly being pushed forward. Many such jobs require near-ground autonomous flight through obstacle-dense environments. Achieving proficiency in this regard requires agile motion, precise tracking performance, and efficient real-time planning.Many non-traditional UAV platforms have been designed to suit various applications. Agile fixed-wing UAVs represent one such class of vehicles. They are characterized by their high thrust-to-weight ratio, large control surfaces, low aspect ratios, and a powerful propeller slipstream (also known as propwash). While they were originally marketed towards remote control pilots, their design makes them inherently valuable for autonomous flight. The primary appeal of the design is that it allows for both efficient fixed-wing forward flying and agile maneuvering, e.g. stopping mid-flight. In this way, these UAVs begin to bridge the gap in utility between efficient fixed-wing vehicles, and agile rotorcraft. The broad objective of this thesis is to exploit the full maneuvering capabilities of agile fixed-wing UAVs for autonomous flight. The main topics covered are maneuver design, control, and motion planning. The thesis begins with a discussion of preliminary topics: an aircraft dynamics model, a feedback controller, and an optimization framework, all of which are utilized throughout the following sections of the thesis. Next, an investigation is performed to evaluate the significance of sideslip and propeller slipstream in extreme maneuvering with fixed-wing UAVs. We identify the cost, in terms of performance loss, if either of these two phenomena are not accounted for in maneuver design.In the following chapter, we propose a strategy for designing and controlling agile maneuvers that takes advantage of the aircraft's full flight envelope. Optimal and dynamically feasible trajectories are generated, along with their associated feedforward control laws. Combining the transient agile maneuvers with steady-state trim conditions, we formulate a maneuver space, i.e. a library of trajectories. The maneuver space acts as a hybrid representation of the vehicle's dynamics, and as such is useful for efficient real-time motion planning. This chapter also includes a description of a heuristic for transitioning between maneuvers, and a methodology for continuously parametrizing agile maneuvers.As a natural progression towards the ultimate goal of the thesis, the maneuver space is integrated into a real-time motion planner based on the Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees (RRT) algorithm. The planner is used to address the problem of generating a dynamically feasible motion plan to guide the aircraft to a desired goal through a highly-constrained, three-dimensional environment. For the purposes of this thesis, the environment is assumed to be known, and to only contain static obstacles. The planning framework is able to exploit the aircraft's full maneuvering capabilities, and couples well with a control system for effective trajectory tracking.To conclude the main body of the thesis, simulation and flight test results are presented and discussed. The flight tests are performed in two sets. First, to perform a number of agile maneuvers, in isolation and in series. The experiments validate the feasibility of the maneuvers, and test the efficacy of the proposed control system. The second set of tests validate the real-time motion planner. All experiments, including the real-time motion planning, are implemented using only the sensors and computers mounted on-board the UAV." --

Download or read book Autonomous and Semi autonomous Control of Agile Fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles written by Juan Carlos Hernandez Ramirez and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been increasingly employed for a wide range of civilian applications, including scientific and commercial endeavours. Striving for versatility, novel UAV designs have been proposed which incorporate features from different aircraft categories. The agile fixed-wing UAV is one such platform, which combines the fast andefficient flight of conventional fixed-wing aircraft with the highly maneuverable hovering capabilities of rotorcraft. These aircraft have enormous potential but are challenging to operate, demonstrating the need for control systems capable of harnessing their maneuvering capabilities. The objective of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive control strategy for the agile fixed-wing UAV, considering both autonomous, and pilot-assist, semi-autonomous operation. The thesis begins by introducing the fixed-wing UAV model, including previously developed aerodynamic and slipstream models needed for controller design and verification. Controllerdesign begins in the next chapter, where the core attitude control system is developed. We propose several geometric control strategies which are then evaluated through simulations and experiments. The next chapter presents a nonlinear control strategy to enable UAV velocity and position control. This is a unified control architecture, where a single controller is valid for steady and hover flight regimes. Rigorous stability analysis, together with simulations and experimental flights demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed system. The following chapter, we propose an additional control loop to enable path-following functionality, allowing us to prioritize the task of reaching and following spatial paths. As part of this system, a novel moving path frame is developed, specifically tailored for the task of motion control in three-dimensional space. Finally, a reference generator capable of translating limited pilot inputs into time-parametrized trajectories or spatial paths is developed. This system is then integrated with the control systems to achieve a semi-autonomous control solution. As demonstrated through experimental flights, the proposed system enables a human pilot to safely operate the aircraft inany regime without sacrificing its maneuverability"--

Download or read book Nonlinear Control of Fixed Wing UAVs with Time Varying and Unstructured Uncertainties written by Michail G. Michailidis and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-21 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces a comprehensive and mathematically rigorous controller design for families of nonlinear systems with time-varying parameters and unstructured uncertainties. Although the presented methodology is general, the specific family of systems considered is the latest, NextGen, unconventional fixed-wing unmanned aircraft with circulation control or morphing wings, or a combination of both. The approach considers various sources of model and parameter uncertainty, while the controller design depends not on a nominal plant model, but instead on a family of admissible plants. In contrast to existing controller designs that consider multiple models and multiple controllers, the proposed approach is based on the ‘one controller fits all models’ within the unstructured uncertainty interval. The book presents a modeling-based analysis and synthesis approach with additive uncertainty weighting functions for accurate realization of the candidate systems. This differs significantly from existing designs in that it is capable of handling time-varying characteristics. This research monograph is suitable for scientists, engineers, researchers and graduate students with a background in control system theory who are interested in complex engineering nonlinear systems.

Download or read book Dynamics Modeling of Agile Fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles written by Waqas Khan and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Recent emergence of a special class of small fixed-wing UAVs called agile UAVs or highly maneuverable UAVs, has led to a renewed interest in modeling and understanding full-envelope fixed-wing aircraft dynamics. Agile UAVs are characterized by low weight and inertia, low aspect ratio surfaces with big control surfaces and large deflections, and a powerful thruster producing high thrust-to-weight ratio and a strong slipstream. Owing to this unique configuration, agile UAVs attain maneuverability that parallels that of rotary-wing and flapping-wing UAVs, therefore making them suitable for a wide range of tasks involving both conventional and extreme aerobatic flight. While RC pilots have long demonstrated the potential of agile UAVs, mimicking these capabilities autonomously remains at large a challenge, mainly because the behavior of these UAVs is not well understood. This work takes a first step towards understanding and simulating the behavior of agile UAVs for their full flight envelope. To this end, a six degree-of-freedom nonlinear dynamics model is presented. The model is validated for a YAK54 ARF Electric 3D Aerobat test platform having a wing span of 0.82 m. The inertial and geometric parameters are determined from measurements and a detailed CAD model. The agile UAV model incorporates aerodynamics based on a component breakdown approach. The full ± 180 deg. angle of attack and sideslip range is captured while also taking into account low aspect ratio as well as large control surface deflection effects both pre-stall and post-stall. The effect of quasi-steady and unsteady aerodynamics is also investigated. Aerodynamic interference between different components such as the wing, tail etc. is introduced in a simple fashion. Most of the aerobatic maneuvers of agile UAVs are possible due to its powerful thruster because it supports the aircraft weight, while its slipstream provides air over the aerodynamic and control surfaces to help maintain lift and control. In lieu of this, a detailed mathematical treatment for the thruster dynamics and the propeller slipstream effects have also been undertaken in the current work. A thruster dynamics model is developed by considering its components namely the battery, ESC, brushless DC motor, and propeller. Gyroscopic effects arising from large pitching and yawing of the thruster are also taken into account. For the slipstream, the effects of both axial and swirl components are considered. A novel model is presented to predict the axial velocity up to far downstream of the propeller.The last aspect of this work is the validation of the agile UAV model (implemented in Simulink). A multitude of experiments comprising of static bench tests and wind-tunnel tests are performed. A thorough validation is carried out against experimental data for the individual components as well as the overall agile UAV model. In general, the simulated results are in good agreement with experimental data. A final qualitative validation is also done by configuring the model to run in real-time with the pilot-in-loop and visual feedback provided through X-Plane. A professional RC pilot who has experience flying the real aircraft, tested the simulation by flying various RC maneuvers. His overall comments were that the simulation behaves much like the real aircraft." --

Download or read book Control and Obstacle Avoidance for Agile Fixed wing Aircraft written by Eitan Bulka and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been increasingly proposed for aerial surveillance, mapping, and delivery tasks. Historically these vehicles fall into two categories: conventional fixed-wing aircraft, which are capable of efficient flight over long distances but lack maneuverability, and rotorcraft, which are capable of agile and maneuverable flight but lack efficiency and endurance. Recent advancements in aerial vehicle design aim to incorporate characteristics from both rotorcraft and conventional fixed-wing aircraft, ultimately creating aircraft that are capable of both maneuverable and efficient long distance flight. These type of platforms are ideal for tasks that require both the ability to maneuver through cluttered environments, and the ability to fly long distances efficiently. An aircraft of this type, the agile fixed-wing aircraft, is a fixed-wing aircraft characterized by a high thrust-to-weight ratio (> 1), and large control surfaces capable of large deflections.The objective of this thesis is to further the autonomous capabilities of agile fixed-wing aircraft; specifically in the context of control systems and real-time collision avoidance. The thesis begins with a discussion of a previously developed flight dynamics model, and presents a method for validating a flight dynamics model in flight regimes that rely on feedback control. Subsequently, a single control architecture is developed that can track trajectories within both conventional and aerobatic flight regimes. This architecture is then extended to be applicable to many other types of vehicles, specifically vehicles which can generate a torque in an arbitrary direction, and can apply a single body-fixed force. We demonstrate autonomous aerobatic trajectories with an agile fixed-wing aircraft, specifically knife-edge, rolling harrier, aggressive turnaround and hovering maneuvers within conventional simulations, hardware-in-the-loop simulations, indoor flight tests and outdoor flight tests. We also validate the extension to other platforms by demonstrating flips with a quadrotor in both simulation and outdoor flight tests. All flights were performed with on-board sensing and computation.We then present a reactive obstacle avoidance algorithm that utilizes the maneuvering capabilities of agile fixed-wing aircraft and can be run in real-time with on-board sensing and computation. At each time step, trajectories are selected in real-time from a pre-computed library that lead to various positions on the edge of the obstacle sensor's field-of-view. A cost is assigned to each collision-free trajectory based on its heading toward the goal and minimum distance to obstacles, and the lowest cost trajectory is tracked. If all of the potential trajectories leading to the various positions at the edge of the obstacle sensor's field-of-view result in a collision, the aircraft has enough space to hover and come to a stop, which theoretically guarantees collision-free flight in unknown static environments. Autonomous flight in unknown and unstructured environments using only on-board sensing (stereo camera, IMU, and GPS) and computation is demonstrated with an agile fixed-wing aircraft in both simulation and outdoor flight tests. During the flight testing campaign, the aircraft autonomously flew 4.4 km in a tree-filled environment with an average speed of 8.1 m/s and a top speed of 14.4 m/s"--

Download or read book Advanced UAV Aerodynamics Flight Stability and Control written by Pascual Marqués and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-07-11 with total page 799 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprehensively covers emerging aerospace technologies Advanced UAV aerodynamics, flight stability and control: Novel concepts, theory and applications presents emerging aerospace technologies in the rapidly growing field of unmanned aircraft engineering. Leading scientists, researchers and inventors describe the findings and innovations accomplished in current research programs and industry applications throughout the world. Topics included cover a wide range of new aerodynamics concepts and their applications for real world fixed-wing (airplanes), rotary wing (helicopter) and quad-rotor aircraft. The book begins with two introductory chapters that address fundamental principles of aerodynamics and flight stability and form a knowledge base for the student of Aerospace Engineering. The book then covers aerodynamics of fixed wing, rotary wing and hybrid unmanned aircraft, before introducing aspects of aircraft flight stability and control. Key features: Sound technical level and inclusion of high-quality experimental and numerical data. Direct application of the aerodynamic technologies and flight stability and control principles described in the book in the development of real-world novel unmanned aircraft concepts. Written by world-class academics, engineers, researchers and inventors from prestigious institutions and industry. The book provides up-to-date information in the field of Aerospace Engineering for university students and lecturers, aerodynamics researchers, aerospace engineers, aircraft designers and manufacturers.

Download or read book Optimization and Cooperative Control Strategies written by Michael Hirsch and published by Springer. This book was released on 2008-10-18 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cooperative, collaborating autonomous systems are at the forefront of research efforts in numerous disciplines across the applied sciences. There is constant progress in solution techniques for these systems. However, despite this progress, cooperating systems have continued to be extremely difficult to model, analyze, and solve. Theoretical results are very difficult to come by. Each year, the International Conference on Cooperative Control and Optimization (CCO) brings together top researchers from around the world to present new, cutting-edge, ideas, theories, applications, and advances in the fields of autonomous agents, cooperative systems, control theory, information flow, and optimization. The works in this volume are a result of invited papers and selected presentations at the Eighth Annual International Conference on Cooperative Control and Optimization, held in Gainesville, Florida, January 30 – February 1, 2008.

Download or read book Algorithms for Generation and Tracking of Fast and Agile Flight Trajectories written by Ezra Tal and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High-speed flight through cluttered environments is essential to many time-sensitive robotics applications. It requires motion planning and flight control algorithms that enable highly accurate maneuvering at the edge of the vehicle's capability. These algorithms must overcome challenges particular to fast and agile flight, such as complex dynamics effects including significant unsteady aerodynamics and challenging conditions like post-stall and uncoordinated flight. We propose trajectory generation and tracking algorithms that address these challenges for a quadcopter aircraft and for a fixed-wing transitioning aircraft that combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) with efficient forward flight. This thesis contains several contributions. First, we show that robust control based on incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion (INDI) enables fast and agile flight without depending on an accurate dynamics model. Based on the INDI technique, we design a comprehensive quadcopter flight control algorithm that achieves accurate trajectory tracking without relying on any vehicle aerodynamics model. Second, we show differential flatness of a global nonlinear six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) flight dynamics model for a tailsitter flying wing transitioning aircraft. We leverage the flat transform to design an INDI flight control algorithm capable of tracking agile aerobatics maneuvers that exploit the entire flight envelope, including post-stall and sideways knife-edge flight. Third, we present a trajectory generation algorithm that aims to identify the actual dynamic feasibility boundary by efficiently combining analytical, numerical, and experimental evaluations in trajectory optimization. Finally, we demonstrate our contributions in fast and agile flight through elaborate experiments.

Download or read book Small Unmanned Aircraft written by Randal W. Beard and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-02-26 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are critical to current and future military, civil, and commercial operations. Despite their importance, no previous textbook has accessibly introduced UAVs to students in the engineering, computer, and science disciplines--until now. Small Unmanned Aircraft provides a concise but comprehensive description of the key concepts and technologies underlying the dynamics, control, and guidance of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft, and enables all students with an introductory-level background in controls or robotics to enter this exciting and important area. The authors explore the essential underlying physics and sensors of UAV problems, including low-level autopilot for stability and higher-level autopilot functions of path planning. The textbook leads the student from rigid-body dynamics through aerodynamics, stability augmentation, and state estimation using onboard sensors, to maneuvering through obstacles. To facilitate understanding, the authors have replaced traditional homework assignments with a simulation project using the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Students begin by modeling rigid-body dynamics, then add aerodynamics and sensor models. They develop low-level autopilot code, extended Kalman filters for state estimation, path-following routines, and high-level path-planning algorithms. The final chapter of the book focuses on UAV guidance using machine vision. Designed for advanced undergraduate or graduate students in engineering or the sciences, this book offers a bridge to the aerodynamics and control of UAV flight.

Download or read book Real Time Predictive Motion Planning for Fixed Wing Aerial Vehicles written by Alexander Joos and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agile Flight Control Techniques for a Fixed wing Aircraft written by Frantisek Michal Sobolic and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) become more involved in challenging mission objectives, the need for agility controlled flight becomes more of a necessity. The ability to navigate through constrained environments as well as quickly maneuver to each mission target is essential. Currently, individual vehicles are developed with a particular mission objective, whether it be persistent surveillance or fly-by reconnaissance. Fixed-wing vehicles with a high thrust-to-weight ratio are capable of performing maneuvers such as take-off or perch style landing and switch between hover and conventional flight modes. Agile flight controllers enable a single vehicle to achieve multiple mission objectives. By utilizing the knowledge of the flight dynamics through all flight regimes, nonlinear controllers can be developed that control the aircraft in a single design. This thesis develops a full six-degree-of-freedom model for a fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft along with methods of control through non conventional flight regimes. In particular, these controllers focus on transitioning into and out of hover to level flight modes. This maneuver poses hardships for conventional linear control architectures because these flights involve regions of the post-stall regime, which is highly nonlinear due to separation of flow over the lifting surfaces. Using Lyapunov back stepping control stability theory as well as quaternion-based control methods, control strategies are developed that stabilize the aircraft through these flight regimes without the need to switch control schemes. The effectiveness of each control strategy is demonstrated in both simulation and flight experiments.

Download or read book Selected papers from the 2nd International Symposium on UAVs Reno U S A June 8 10 2009 written by Kimon P. Valavanis and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-04-11 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last decade, signi?cant changes have occurred in the ?eld of vehicle motion planning, and for UAVs in particular. UAV motion planning is especially dif?cult due to several complexities not considered by earlier planning strategies: the - creased importance of differential constraints, atmospheric turbulence which makes it impossible to follow a pre-computed plan precisely, uncertainty in the vehicle state, and limited knowledge about the environment due to limited sensor capabilities. These differences have motivated the increased use of feedback and other control engineering techniques for motion planning. The lack of exact algorithms for these problems and dif?culty inherent in characterizing approximation algorithms makes it impractical to determine algorithm time complexity, completeness, and even soundness. This gap has not yet been addressed by statistical characterization of experimental performance of algorithms and benchmarking. Because of this overall lack of knowledge, it is dif?cult to design a guidance system, let alone choose the algorithm. Throughout this paper we keep in mind some of the general characteristics and requirements pertaining to UAVs. A UAV is typically modeled as having velocity and acceleration constraints (and potentially the higher-order differential constraints associated with the equations of motion), and the objective is to guide the vehicle towards a goal through an obstacle ?eld. A UAV guidance problem is typically characterized by a three-dimensional problem space, limited information about the environment, on-board sensors with limited range, speed and acceleration constraints, and uncertainty in vehicle state and sensor data.

Download or read book Path Planning for Fixed Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles written by Daniel Schneider and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Differentially Flat Systems written by Hebertt Sira-Ramírez and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-10-03 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illustrating the power, simplicity, and generality of the concept of flatness, this reference explains how to identify, utilize, and apply flatness in system planning and design. The book includes a large assortment of exercises and models that range from elementary to complex classes of systems. Leading students and professionals through a vast array of designs, simulations, and analytical studies on the traditional uses of flatness, Differentially Flat Systems contains an extensive amount of examples that showcase the value of flatness in system design, demonstrate how flatness can be assessed in the context of perturbed systems and apply static and dynamic feedback controller design techniques.

Download or read book Motion Planning in Dynamic Environments written by Kikuo Fujimura and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Computer Science Workbench is a monograph series which will provide you with an in-depth working knowledge of current developments in computer technology. Every volume in this series will deal with a topic of importance in computer science and elaborate on how you yourself can build systems related to the main theme. You will be able to develop a variety of systems, including computer software tools, computer graphics, computer animation, database management systems, and computer-aided design and manufacturing systems. Computer Science Workbench represents an important new contribution in the field of practical computer technology. TOSIYASU L. KUNII To my parents Kenjiro and Nori Fujimura Preface Motion planning is an area in robotics that has received much attention recently. Much of the past research focuses on static environments - various methods have been developed and their characteristics have been well investigated. Although it is essential for autonomous intelligent robots to be able to navigate within dynamic worlds, the problem of motion planning in dynamic domains is relatively little understood compared with static problems.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Robotics written by Marcelo H. Ang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-07-13 with total page 4000 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia of Robotics addresses the existing need for an easily accessible yet authoritative and granular knowledge resource in robotic science and engineering. The encyclopedia is a work that comprehensively explains the scientific, application-based, interactive and socio-ethical parameters of robotics. It is the first work that explains at the concept and fact level the state of the field of robotics and its future directions. The encyclopedia is a complement to Springer’s highly successful Handbook of Robotics that has analyzed the state of robotics through the medium of descriptive essays. Organized in an A-Z format for quick and easy understanding of both the basic and advanced topics across a broad spectrum of areas in a self-contained form. The entries in this Encyclopedia will be a comprehensive description of terms used in robotics science and technology. Each term, when useful, is described concisely with online illustrations and enhanced user interactivity (on SpringerReference.com).

Download or read book Handbook of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles written by Kimon P. Valavanis and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-08-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is a reference text for the academic and research communities, industry, manufacturers, users, practitioners, Federal Government, Federal and State Agencies, the private sector, as well as all organizations that are and will be using unmanned aircraft in a wide spectrum of applications. The Handbook covers all aspects of UAVs, from design to logistics and ethical issues. It is also targeting the young investigator, the future inventor and entrepreneur by providing an overview and detailed information of the state-of-the-art as well as useful new concepts that may lead to innovative research. The contents of the Handbook include material that addresses the needs and ‘know how’ of all of the above sectors targeting a very diverse audience. The Handbook offers a unique and comprehensive treatise of everything one needs to know about unmanned aircrafts, from conception to operation, from technologies to business activities, users, OEMs, reference sources, conferences, publications, professional societies, etc. It should serve as a Thesaurus, an indispensable part of the library for everyone involved in this area. For the first time, contributions by the world’s top experts from academia, industry, government and the private sector, are brought together to provide unique perspectives on the current state-of-the-art in UAV, as well as future directions. The Handbook is intended for the expert/practitioner who seeks specific technical/business information, for the technically-oriented scientists and engineers, but also for the novice who wants to learn more about the status of UAV and UAV-related technologies. The Handbook is arranged in a user-friendly format, divided into main parts referring to: UAV Design Principles; UAV Fundamentals; UAV Sensors and Sensing Strategies; UAV Propulsion; UAV Control; UAV Communication Issues; UAV Architectures; UAV Health Management Issues; UAV Modeling, Simulation, Estimation and Identification; MAVs and Bio-Inspired UAVs; UAV Mission and Path Planning; UAV Autonomy; UAV Sense, Detect and Avoid Systems; Networked UAVs and UAV Swarms; UAV Integration into the National Airspace; UAV-Human Interfaces and Decision Support Systems; Human Factors and Training; UAV Logistics Support; UAV Applications; Social and Ethical Implications; The Future of UAVs. Each part is written by internationally renowned authors who are authorities in their respective fields. The contents of the Handbook supports its unique character as a thorough and comprehensive reference book directed to a diverse audience of technologists, businesses, users and potential users, managers and decision makers, novices and experts, who seek a holistic volume of information that is not only a technical treatise but also a source for answers to several questions on UAV manufacturers, users, major players in UAV research, costs, training required and logistics issues.