High-Fidelity Drone Simulation with Depth Camera Noise and Improved Air Drag Force Models

Kim, Woosung; Luong, Tuan; Ha, Yoonwoo; Doh, Myeongyun; Yax, Juan Fernando Medrano; Moon, Hyungpil

doi:10.3390/app131910631

Open AccessArticle

High-Fidelity Drone Simulation with Depth Camera Noise and Improved Air Drag Force Models

by

Woosung Kim

,

Tuan Luong

^*

,

Yoonwoo Ha

,

Myeongyun Doh

,

Juan Fernando Medrano Yax

and

Hyungpil Moon

^*

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(19), 10631; https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910631

Submission received: 8 August 2023 / Revised: 18 September 2023 / Accepted: 19 September 2023 / Published: 24 September 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics)

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Abstract

Drone simulations offer a safe environment for collecting data and testing algorithms. However, the depth camera sensor in the simulation provides exact depth values without error, which can result in variations in algorithm behavior, especially in the case of SLAM, when transitioning to real-world environments. The aerodynamic model in the simulation also differs from reality, leading to larger errors in drag force calculations at high speeds. This disparity between simulation and real-world conditions poses challenges when attempting to transfer high-speed drone algorithms developed in the simulated environment to actual operational settings. In this paper, we propose a more realistic simulation by implementing a novel depth camera noise model and an improved aerodynamic drag force model. Through experimental validation, we demonstrate the suitability of our models for simulating real-depth cameras and air drag forces. Our depth camera noise model can replicate the values of a real depth camera sensor with a coefficient of determination (

R^{2}

) value of 0.62, and our air drag force model improves accuracy by 51% compared to the Airsim simulation air drag force model in outdoor flying experiments at 10 m/s.

Keywords: environmental modeling; sensor modeling; aerodynamic model

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kim, W.; Luong, T.; Ha, Y.; Doh, M.; Yax, J.F.M.; Moon, H. High-Fidelity Drone Simulation with Depth Camera Noise and Improved Air Drag Force Models. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 10631. https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910631

AMA Style

Kim W, Luong T, Ha Y, Doh M, Yax JFM, Moon H. High-Fidelity Drone Simulation with Depth Camera Noise and Improved Air Drag Force Models. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(19):10631. https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910631

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kim, Woosung, Tuan Luong, Yoonwoo Ha, Myeongyun Doh, Juan Fernando Medrano Yax, and Hyungpil Moon. 2023. "High-Fidelity Drone Simulation with Depth Camera Noise and Improved Air Drag Force Models" Applied Sciences 13, no. 19: 10631. https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910631

APA Style

Kim, W., Luong, T., Ha, Y., Doh, M., Yax, J. F. M., & Moon, H. (2023). High-Fidelity Drone Simulation with Depth Camera Noise and Improved Air Drag Force Models. Applied Sciences, 13(19), 10631. https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910631

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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High-Fidelity Drone Simulation with Depth Camera Noise and Improved Air Drag Force Models

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