A Vision based system for attitude estimation of UAVS

This paper describes a technique for estimating the attitude of a UAV by monitoring the visual horizon. An algorithm is developed that makes the best use of color and intensity information in an image to determine the position and orientation of the horizon, and infer the aircraft´s attitude. The technique is accurate, reliable, and fully capable of real-time operation. Furthermore, it can be incorporated into any existing vision system, irrespective of the way in which the environment is imaged (e.g. through lenses or mirrors).