Sponsor

DeWitt Latimer
Robotics and Embedded Systems Lab, USC
dlatimer@usc.edu

S. Gasster, M. Gorlick
The Aerospace Corporation

Background:

Imagine a potential fire is detected in Southern California by orbiting satellites. Then imagine that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are automatically dispatched to the area to determine if there is a fire. Once on the scene, and the fire is verified, imagine that various federal, state, and local officials are asking the UAV to observe different parts of the fire. While all this time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is sending constraints on the flight path to the UAV. This future may not be too distant.

Project

We seek a team to assemble a quick prototype of the above scenario using already available open source packages (FlightGear) and research packages (RETSINA or similar). This will involve using the simulator and visualizer to show an audience what the UAV is doing, as other computers or users act as federal, state, and local agencies sending requests to the UAV during the demonstration. This is an excellent opportunity for students interested simulation and visualization. As well, the underlying request and sensor data infrastructure (to and from the UAV) may be of interest to more traditional software developers.

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