The Design Of Ground Control System Based On Embedded Platform For MAV

The micro aerial vehicle(MAV) has special configuration which results in lower cost, smaller size, lighter weight, better mobility and more easier to carry comparing with other unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV).Meanwhile, MAV have very broad application prospects in both military and civilian fields. Therefore, the study of MAV has become one of the hottest UAV research direction. The ground control system(GCS) as a key part of the MAV system, is responsible for monitoring and control of MAV to ensure the flight safety and successful completion of flight mission.Currently, the researches mainly focus on the design and implementation of the software for GCS based on dedicated or PC platform, less attentions are paid to the design of hardware. The GCS with existing platforms usually have drawbacks such as high costs, poor portability and short battery life, which are unable to meet the high requirement for MAV’s portability. With the rapid development of microelectronics and computer technology, the processing power of embedded platform has been greatly improved. The embedded platform has many advantages such as low cost, high integration etc, which is quite suitable for the construction of GCS for MAV.In terms of hardware, the system consists of one Android tablet and a newly designed expansion module. Existing Android tablets have the advantage of low price cheapness, high performance and good portability which can be usded as the host computer. Expansion module is made up of microcontroller, joysticks and nRF24L01+PA module, connected to Android tablet via USB. By the expansion module, Android tablet’s hardware functions are expanded to have the abilities to meet the requirements of GCS for MAV.In terms of software, a GCS software based on Android has been developed, which implement the functions of task management, map information replenishment, flight route planning, flight monitoring and controll, payload management, flight replay etc. The software can be used in many Android devices.Compared with existing designs of GCS, the system is characterized by these features:1. Choosing the widely used Android tablets as the host to improve the portability and reduce hardware costs.By USB, the expansion module has good usability to many computer platform.2. Using the nRF24L01+PA module for wireless communication. And a simple, practical and fast-response protocol has been designed to keep long-distance communication with MAV.3. The GCS software is implemented in the Android system, with full functions to control MAV.Through rational design, the software improves the real-time ability of Android to meet the needs of controlling MAV.