Assessing Indoor Environments with sUAS through Real-Time Virtual Reality and Assured Navigation

Abstract

This paper discusses a method that uses a small-size unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) to navigate a challenging environment and generate, in real-time, a three-dimensional (3D) map (e.g., point cloud data of features) of that environment. The 3D map is then transmitted to a remote user and shown in raw or processed form in near real-time on a virtual reality (VR) headset for user interaction, scene interpretation and assessment. Furthermore, the paper will include flight test results of our multi-copter sUAS operating in both indoor and outdoor environments. In addition to these discussions, the paper will show some navigation and mapping performance results.