Review
Bio-Inspired Principles Applied to the Guidance,
Navigation and Control of UAS
Reuben Strydom
1,2,
*, Aymeric Denuelle
1,3
and Mandyam V. Srinivasan
1,2
1
The Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia;
a.denuelle@uq.edu.au (A.D.); m.srinivasan@uq.edu.au (M.V.S.)
2
The School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland,
Brisbane 4072, Australia
3
Autonomous Systems Program, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO),
Pullenvale 4069, Australia
* Correspondence: r.strydom@uq.edu.au; Tel.: +61-407-221-712
Academic Editor: Javaan Chahl
Received: 28 April 2016; Accepted: 6 July 2016; Published: 20 July 2016
Abstract: This review describes a number of biologically inspired principles that have been applied
to the visual guidance, navigation and control of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). The current
limitations of UAS systems are outlined, such as the over-reliance on GPS, the requirement for more
self-reliant systems and the need for UAS to have a greater understanding of their environment. It is
evident that insects, even with their small brains and limited intelligence, have overcome many of
the shortcomings of the current state of the art in autonomous aerial guidance. This has motivated
research into bio-inspired systems and algorithms, specifically vision-based navigation, situational
awareness and guidance.
Keywords: situational awareness; optic flow; visual odometry; snapshot-based navigation; pursuit;
interception; constant bearing
1. Introduction
The past decade has seen an ever-increasing trend toward the use of autonomous robots for civil
and defence applications. In particular, Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) have become a resourceful
solution in many commercial flight operations. At present, there is a rich variety of UAS designs,
ranging from medium to large fixed wing endurance aircraft (e.g., Global Hawk, Reaper, Scan Eagle)
to smaller, more manoeuvrable, easily deployed multi-rotor platforms (e.g., Phantom Drone,
Parrot AR Drone). Table 1 provides a brief overview of the main commercial and military UAS used
nowadays, along with their specifications and intended applications.
Table 1. A brief overview of various Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) platforms and applications.
UAS Type Approx. Size (m) Endurance Primary Function
Global Hawk [1] 14 (length), 40 (wingspan) 32+ h Surveillance
Hummingbird [2] 11 (length), 11 (wingspan) 24 h Military reconnaissance
Predator [3] 8.2 (length), 14.8 (wingspan) 24 h Military reconnaissance and air strike
Scan Eagle [4] 1.6 (length), 3.1 (wingspan) 24+ h Surveillance
Raven [5] 0.9 (length), 1.4 (wingspan) 60–90 min Communications
Air Robot [6] 1.0 (diameter) 25 min Surveillance and inspection
Phantom 3 [7] 0.35 (diagonal length excluding propellers) 23 min (max) Aerial imaging
The growing popularity of UAS can be largely explained by the increased capabilities they
provide when compared to manned aerial navigation. Unmanned aircraft provide a safer and
Aerospace 2016, 3, 21; doi:10.3390/aerospace3030021 www.mdpi.com/journal/aerospace
