Development of a Light Source Position Estimation System for Accurate Drone Flight

In this study, we developed a light source position estimation system for controlling the wireless-powered drone. An algorithm was designed to estimate the light source position by minimizing an error function consisting of the difference between the measured and estimated values of light-receiving intensity. The received light intensity distribution of a light source with a beam angle of 2.5° was modeled using Gaussian and inverse square functions based on actual measurements. A detection device was fabricated by a photodiode array substrate and a Raspberry Pi. The detection time of the developed system is 97 ms, real-time light source position estimation was confirmed.