Vision-only estimation of wind field strength and direction from an aerial platform

This study describes a novel method for estimating the strength and direction of the local wind field from a mobile airborne platform. An iterative optimisation is derived that allows the properties of the wind field to be determined from successive measurements of the heading direction and ground track of the aircraft only. We have previously described methods for estimating these parameters using a single vision system. This approach therefore constitutes a purely visual method for estimating the properties of the local wind field. We present results from simulated and real-world flight tests that demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed method and its practicality in uncontrolled environmental conditions. These properties and the simplicity of the implementation should make this approach useful as an alternative means for estimating the properties of the local wind field from small-scale, fixed-wing UAVs.