Wireless telemetry system for real-time estimation of ship air wakes with UAVs

This paper presents a wireless instrumentation system developed for real-time estimation of air turbulence patterns arising from the interaction of wind with any structure under consideration, which is an important study in the aerospace industry. In particular, this paper focuses on the application of the proposed system in a naval research problem for off-board measurement of ship air wake patterns using an instrumented radio controlled (RC) helicopter. We propose the use of an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) as a sensor to measure air wake in the form of induced vibrations on the helicopter while it maneuvers through regions of active air wake. The proposed system makes use of Back Propagation Neural Networks to compensate for the vibrational noise contributed by pilot inputs. The instrumentation system was integrated and tested on a modified training vessel in the Chesapeake Bay, which provided a wide range of wind conditions.