Fusion of enhanced and synthetic vision system images for runway and horizon detection
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Published version
Author(s)
Fadhil, Ahmed
Kanneganti, Raghuveer
Gupta, Lalit
Eberle, Henry
Vaidyanathan, Ravi
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Networked operation of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) demands fusion of information from disparate sources for accurate flight control. In this investigation, a novel sensor fusion architecture for detecting aircraft runway and horizons as well as enhancing the awareness of surrounding terrain is introduced based on fusion of enhanced vision system (EVS) and synthetic vision system (SVS) images. EVS and SVS image fusion has yet to be implemented in real-world situations due to signal misalignment. We address this through a registration step to align EVS and SVS images. Four fusion rules combining discrete wavelet transform (DWT) sub-bands are formulated, implemented, and evaluated. The resulting procedure is tested on real EVS-SVS image pairs and pairs containing simulated turbulence. Evaluations reveal that runways and horizons can be detected accurately even in poor visibility. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that different aspects of EVS and SVS images can be emphasized by using different DWT fusion rules. The procedure is autonomous throughout landing, irrespective of weather. The fusion architecture developed in this study holds promise for incorporation into manned heads-up displays (HUDs) and UAV remote displays to assist pilots landing aircraft in poor lighting and varying weather. The algorithm also provides a basis for rule selection in other signal fusion applications.
Date Issued
2019-09-03
Date Acceptance
2019-09-01
Citation
Sensors, 2019, 19 (17), pp.1-17
ISSN
1424-8220
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
17
Journal / Book Title
Sensors
Volume
19
Issue
17
Copyright Statement
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Sponsor
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Identifier
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/17/3802
Grant Number
EP/F01869X
Subjects
Hough transform
image fusion
image registration
intelligent transportation
runway detection
sensing
signal alignment
unmanned aircraft (UAV)
wavelet transform
Analytical Chemistry
0301 Analytical Chemistry
0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
0502 Environmental Science and Management
0602 Ecology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2019-09-03