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Brief Introduction
A simulator will be employed within ZeroPilot 3.0, for the purpose of testing the autonomy of an aircraft without the need of physically flying the aircraft itself. However, this simulator will not only be limited to testing the aircraft, but in general to assess the autonomy features which can be applied to a vehicle in general (e.g. RC Car).
Overview of Integration in Architecture
In this architecture, the simulator would act as a LOS Driver, where similar to how LOS could be configured to use certain drivers, it could instead interface with the simulator. The simulator in this case would simulate inputs to ZP through the LOS interface which would include controls and sensor data. The simulator would also receive actuator controls from ZP through LOS interface to change the state of the simulated aircraft.
Simulator Candidates
A simulator program must be chosen in order to simulate the drone in a testing environment. Potential simulation programs that can be used are:
MATLAB/Simulink
Chrono
MuJuCo
Research is required and will be done for each candidate. The chosen simulation program will be based on best fit in the current architecture (how it works with the LOS interface, input and outputs, etc.), efficiency, and ease of use.
MATLAB/Simulink
Link: https://www.mathworks.com/products/simulink.html
Pros | Cons |
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Chrono
Link: https://projectchrono.org/
Pros | Cons |
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MuJuCo
Link: https://mujoco.org/
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Resources
Resources below can be found which can be used for learning more about simulation, from describing the geometry of the drone and using simulation programs (e.g. Simulink) to simulate drones. The resources are included within learning and researching of finding the best simulation program.
• Drone Simulation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEmGfo36INc&ab_channel=MATLAB
https://www.mathworks.com/videos/programming-drones-with-simulink-1513024653640.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpJZSQmqDVk
• Describing the Vehicle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSL-zqw4cXs
https://www.pdas.com/datcomDescription.html