Vision-IMU Based Collaborative Control of a Blind UAV

This video demonstrates the concept of two UAVs in which one UAV is ‘blind’, i.e. has no sensing methods other than its onboard IMU, whereas the other UAV has a proper knowledge of its position and orientation in space. By observing a marker attached to the blind UAV, the other UAV helps the blind UAV in controlling its absolute position in space. It does so by estimating the relative pose between the two and adding this to the absolute position estimate of the ‘non-blind’ UAV. The video shows a proof-of-concept for this approach, which could be utilized in cases where an aerial manipulator needs to interact closely with feature-poor environments.