Title :
A low-power visual horizon estimation chip
Author :
Horiuchi, Timothy K.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Maryland Univ., College Park, MD, USA
Abstract :
Recent successes in micro-aerial vehicles (<15 cm length, wingspan, height), have highlighted the lack of real-time sensors for flight control. We describe a low-power, real-time visual horizon sensor for use in stabilizing miniature aircraft with respect to pitch and roll in moderate-to-high altitude flight. This prototype sensor incorporates a 12×12 photoreceptor array and finds a best-fit horizon line based on image intensity. The sensor includes a "confidence-level" output for a flight control system to detect poor sensing conditions. The chip was fabricated in a commercially-available 0.5 μm CMOS process and operates on less than 2.5 milliwatts with a 5 V power supply.
Keywords :
CMOS analogue integrated circuits; CMOS image sensors; VLSI; aircraft control; image processing; intelligent sensors; low-power electronics; parameter estimation; photodetectors; 0.5 micron; 5 V; CMOS process; analog VLSI vision chip; best-fit horizon line; confidence-level output; flight control; low-power visual horizon estimation chip; micro-aerial vehicles; miniature aircraft stabilization; moderate-to-high altitude flight; photoreceptor array; pitch; real-time sensors; roll; visual horizon sensor; Aerospace control; Aircraft; CMOS process; Image sensors; Photoreceptors; Prototypes; Sensor arrays; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Sensor systems; Vehicles; analog VLSI; autonomous flight control; micro-aerial vehicles; smart sensor;
Conference_Titel :
Circuits and Systems, 2005. ISCAS 2005. IEEE International Symposium on
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8834-8
DOI :
10.1109/ISCAS.2005.1465695
