Simulation and Control of Mini UAVs

The capabilities to perform missions in hostile and/or hardly accessible areas reducing human risks are responsible of the growing interest in Uninhabited Air Vehicles (UAVs) characterizing the last years. Recent advances in Information and Communication Technologies have allowed to scale sizes of uninhabited aerial platforms, and hence to perform mission profiles not possible for conventional aircraft. Within UAVs applications, the remote piloting and/or monitoring issues play a key role in the ground control station design and ground operator(s) training. This paper presents the issues related to the simulation and the remote control of a mini UAV for environmental monitoring. The simulation tool is developed to support ground control station design and virtual and real ground operator training. The project requirement of a single operator for flight and mission management influences the human-machine interface and the devices for remote control. Non conventional devices, such as digital wearable technologies, are used within the simulator and tested also for real piloting interface. Key-Words: flight simulation, mini UAVs, human-machine interface.