Development of a Real-Time Vision System for an Autonomous Model Airplane

Abstract

This thesis describes a real-time embedded vision system capable of tracking two-dimensional objects in a relatively simple (uncluttered) scene, in live video. This vision system is intended as a component of a robotic flight system, used to keep a model airplane in a holding pattern above an object on the ground. The system used a two-pronged approach to object tracking, taking into account the motion of the scene and the graphic ``signature'' of the object. The vision system consists of these main components: a motion-detection and filtering ASIC, implemented on FPGAs, a scene-analysis program running on a Motorola ColdFire processor, a dual-port RAM holding the image data, and a digital camera on a motorized gimbal.