Introduction to the special issue on aerial robotics

摘要

Aerial robotics has been an active area of research for several decades. It has been steadily maturing throughout the years leading to sophisticated auto-pilot systems for manned vehicles and fully autonomous flight and navigation systems for a range of military and civil applications. Nowadays, the emergence of modern embedded computing, sophisticated GPS positioning and the availability of low cost MEMS sensor systems, along with a growing hobby market in low-cost lightweight remote controlled aerial vehicles has opened a vast range of new civil and military applications. The commercial landscape of aerial robotics is characterized by a plethora of small start-up companies marketing specialized platforms for specific applications. The growth in commercial interest has in turn fueled significant growth in research effort in the field of aerial robotics, particularly in the systems and control community. Many of the practical challenges associated with real time implementation of control and estimation algorithms for aerial robotic vehicles are yet to be satisfactorily resolved.