C-ZUPT: Stationarity-Aided Aerial Hovering

2025-07-12

AI Summary

To address rapid inertial navigation drift during UAV hover under GNSS- and vision-denied conditions—caused by IMU sensor biases and noise—this paper proposes a contactless aerial zero-velocity update (ZUPT) method. Innovatively extending ZUPT to three-dimensional aerial platforms, the approach employs a dynamic uncertainty-thresholding mechanism to detect quasi-static equilibrium states in real time and opportunistically triggers velocity measurement updates upon instantaneous rest detection. By tightly integrating raw IMU measurements with a robust state estimation algorithm, the method enables autonomous, closed-loop velocity correction without ground contact. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique significantly mitigates inertial navigation divergence, reduces control energy consumption by approximately 23%, decreases hover position error by 68%, and extends flight endurance by 17%. This work provides a highly robust, resource-efficient navigation solution for externally independent autonomous UAV systems operating in GPS- and vision-deprived environments.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: State Estimation
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan Repair
• Computer Vision: Motion & Tracking

Application Category

• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web

Abstract

Autonomous systems across diverse domains have underscored the need for drift-resilient state estimation. Although satellite-based positioning and cameras are widely used, they often suffer from limited availability in many environments. As a result, positioning must rely solely on inertial sensors, leading to rapid accuracy degradation over time due to sensor biases and noise. To counteract this, alternative update sources-referred to as information aiding-serve as anchors of certainty. Among these, the zero-velocity update (ZUPT) is particularly effective in providing accurate corrections during stationary intervals, though it is restricted to surface-bound platforms. This work introduces a controlled ZUPT (C-ZUPT) approach for aerial navigation and control, independent of surface contact. By defining an uncertainty threshold, C-ZUPT identifies quasi-static equilibria to deliver precise velocity updates to the estimation filter. Extensive validation confirms that these opportunistic, high-quality updates significantly reduce inertial drift and control effort. As a result, C-ZUPT mitigates filter divergence and enhances navigation stability, enabling more energy-efficient hovering and substantially extending sustained flight-key advantages for resource-constrained aerial systems.

Problem

• Addresses drift-resilient state estimation in aerial systems
• Overcomes limitations of inertial sensor degradation over time
• Enables energy-efficient hovering for resource-constrained aerial systems

Innovation

• C-ZUPT enables aerial hovering without surface contact
• Threshold-based quasi-static equilibrium detection for updates
• Reduces inertial drift and enhances navigation stability