Abstract
Nano-drones, distinguished by their agility, minimal weight, and cost-effectiveness, are particularly well-suited for exploration in confined, cluttered and narrow spaces. Recognizing transparent, highly reflective or absorbing materials, such as glass and metallic surfaces is challenging, as classical sensors, such as cameras or laser rangers, often do not detect them. Inspired by bats, which can fly at high speeds in complete darkness with the help of ultrasound, this paper introduces \textit{BatDeck}, a pioneering sensor-deck employing a lightweight and low-power ultrasonic sensor for nano-drone autonomous navigation. This paper first provides insights about sensor characteristics, highlighting the influence of motor noise on the ultrasound readings, then it introduces the results of extensive experimental tests for obstacle avoidance (OA) in a diverse environment. Results show that \textit{BatDeck} allows exploration for a flight time of 8 minutes while covering 136m on average before crash in a challenging environment with transparent and reflective obstacles, proving the effectiveness of ultrasonic sensors for OA on nano-drones.
Abstract (translated)
纳米无人机以其敏捷性、轻便性和经济性脱颖而出，特别适合在狭小、杂乱和拥挤的空间中进行探索。意识到透明、高度反射或吸收材料的经典传感器（如相机或激光雷达）往往无法检测它们。受到蝙蝠启发，这些生物在完全黑暗中借助超声波可以高速飞行，本文引入了\textit{BatDeck}，这是一款采用轻量化、低功耗超声波传感器为纳米无人机自主导航的开创性传感器阵列。本文首先提供了关于传感器特性的见解，强调了电机噪音对超声读数的影响，然后介绍了在各种环境中进行避开障碍（OA）测试的结果。结果表明，\textit{BatDeck}在具有透明和反射性障碍物的挑战环境中，可以让飞行时间延长至8分钟，证明超声传感器在纳米无人机OA方面的有效性。
URL
https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.16696
