Lightweight Sensing and Control System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Monitoring

A new sensing and control system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) allows for semi-autonomous flight. Pilots need not leave the ground to conduct routine monitoring and surveillance quickly and cost-effectively. Such systems are particularly useful during long flight segments or over remote locations, or for scientific applications such as atmospheric monitoring or crop monitoring, which might require long and repeated sampling in a specific pattern. The small, lightweight technology can be quickly adapted to a specific configuration.