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Dual-channel LIDAR searching, positioning, tracking and landing system for rotorcraft from ships at sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2022

Tao Zeng ,
Hua Wang ,
Xiucong Sun Open the ORCID record for Xiucong Sun [Opens in a new window] ,
Hui Li ,
Zhen Lu ,
Feifei Tong ,
Hao Cheng ,
Canlun Zheng  and
Mengying Zhang
Tao Zeng
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, BeiHang University, Beijing, China Xi'an Institute of Electromechanical Information Technology, Xi'an, China
Hua Wang
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, BeiHang University, Beijing, China
Xiucong Sun*
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, BeiHang University, Beijing, China
Hui Li
Affiliation:
Henan Costar Group Co. Ltd, Nanyang, China
Zhen Lu
Affiliation:
Xi'an Institute of Electromechanical Information Technology, Xi'an, China
Feifei Tong
Affiliation:
Henan Costar Group Co. Ltd, Nanyang, China
Hao Cheng
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, BeiHang University, Beijing, China
Canlun Zheng
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, BeiHang University, Beijing, China
Mengying Zhang
Affiliation:
Bejing Institute of Electronic System Engineering, Beijing, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: xiucong.sun@buaa.edu.cn
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Abstract

To address the shortcomings of existing methods for rotorcraft searching, positioning, tracking and landing on a ship at sea, a dual-channel LIDAR searching, positioning, tracking and landing system (DCLSPTLS) is proposed in this paper, which utilises the multi-pulse laser echoes accumulation method and the physical phenomenon that the laser reflectivity of the ship deck in the near-infrared band is four orders of magnitude higher than that of the sea surface. The DCLSPTLS searching and positioning model, tracking model and landing model are established, respectively. The searching and positioning model can provide estimates of the azimuth angle, the distance of the ship relative to the rotorcraft and the ship's course. With the above parameters as inputs, the total tracking time and the direction of the rotorcraft tracking speed can be obtained by using the tracking model. The landing model can calculate the pitch and the roll angles of the ship's deck relative to the rotorcraft by using the least squares method and the laser irradiation coordinates. The simulation shows that the DCLSPTLS can realise the functions of rotorcraft searching, positioning, tracking and landing by using the above parameters. To verify the effectiveness of the DCLSPTLS, a functional test is performed using a rotorcraft and a model ship on a lake. The test results are consistent with the results of the simulation.

Keywords

dual-channel LIDARsearchingpositioningtrackinglanding
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 75 , Issue 4 , July 2022 , pp. 901 - 927
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Institute of Navigation

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