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Simulating UAV Flight in Augmented Reality

Rosenberg, William LU and Sjögren Alpha, Fatima LU (2022) MAMM01 20221
Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology
Abstract
This thesis describes the design and development of a UAV simulator application prototype, which uses augmented reality technology and runs on a tablet device. The purpose of the application is to act as a complementary educational tool for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots in training. The field of commercial unmanned aviation is rapidly growing, and with it the need for structured and standardised education. Flying UAVs is costly both in terms of time and resources, and a simulated experience could act as an efficient complement. The application is designed with the principles of user-centered design at the core of the process, including evaluating the application from a usability perspective through user testing. This thesis also... (More)
This thesis describes the design and development of a UAV simulator application prototype, which uses augmented reality technology and runs on a tablet device. The purpose of the application is to act as a complementary educational tool for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots in training. The field of commercial unmanned aviation is rapidly growing, and with it the need for structured and standardised education. Flying UAVs is costly both in terms of time and resources, and a simulated experience could act as an efficient complement. The application is designed with the principles of user-centered design at the core of the process, including evaluating the application from a usability perspective through user testing. This thesis also aims to investigate the Augmented Reality (AR) medium in the UAV training context. The final prototype received positive feedback in the evaluation. It was found that the AR medium comes with both strengths and weaknesses, mainly concerned with realism and the likeness to flying a real UAV. In conclusion, the prototype shows great potential as a complementary educational tool for UAV training. (Less)
Popular Abstract (Swedish)
Vi presenterar en simulator-applikation där användarna kan lära sig att flyga drönare. Tack vare en innovativ användning av augmented reality (AR) skapas en verklighetstrogen flygupplevelse.
De första flygsimulatorerna började dyka upp i början av 1900-talet och har sedan dess utvecklats till en central del av nästan all flygutbildning.

Modern teknologi gör att simulatorerna kan utformas på ett sätt som är mycket verklighetstroget. Modern teknologi leder också till att nya obemannade luftfarkoster, så kallade drönare, får en allt viktigare roll i samhället. Fram tills nyligen det varit ganska fritt för gemene man att flyga drönare utan utbildning eller kvalifikationer, men när drönarna blir tyngre, större, snabbare och tar allt större... (More)
Vi presenterar en simulator-applikation där användarna kan lära sig att flyga drönare. Tack vare en innovativ användning av augmented reality (AR) skapas en verklighetstrogen flygupplevelse.
De första flygsimulatorerna började dyka upp i början av 1900-talet och har sedan dess utvecklats till en central del av nästan all flygutbildning.

Modern teknologi gör att simulatorerna kan utformas på ett sätt som är mycket verklighetstroget. Modern teknologi leder också till att nya obemannade luftfarkoster, så kallade drönare, får en allt viktigare roll i samhället. Fram tills nyligen det varit ganska fritt för gemene man att flyga drönare utan utbildning eller kvalifikationer, men när drönarna blir tyngre, större, snabbare och tar allt större plats i luftrummet så blir det viktigare att på ett seriöst sätt utbilda drönarpiloterna.

I dagsläget sker denna utbildning i regel genom flygning av riktiga drönare. Vi har utvecklat en simulator-applikation, SUAV (Simulated
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), som simulerar drönarflygning och utmanar användaren att lära sig flyga på en rad olika sätt. Applikationen körs på en iPad och låter användaren flyga en simulerad drönare genom olika steg. Bland annat finns ett tutorialläge som lär ut de allra mest grundläggande kontrollerna. Simulatorn inkluderar dessutom ett antal banor att flyga genom.

Simulatorn uppnår en hög grad av realism genom att utnyttja AR-teknik, med vilken digitala objekt läggs ovanpå verkligheten. Med hjälp av en speciell sensor i iPaden kan den virtuella drönaren även kollidera med verkliga objekt. Vid tester visar applikationen stor potential som utbildningsverktyg. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rosenberg, William LU and Sjögren Alpha, Fatima LU
supervisor
organization
course
MAMM01 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Remotely-piloted aircraft, Simulator, Augmented Reality, User-centered Design, Usability
language
English
id
9091943
date added to LUP
2022-06-22 09:08:18
date last changed
2022-06-22 09:08:18
@misc{9091943,
  abstract     = {{This thesis describes the design and development of a UAV simulator application prototype, which uses augmented reality technology and runs on a tablet device. The purpose of the application is to act as a complementary educational tool for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots in training. The field of commercial unmanned aviation is rapidly growing, and with it the need for structured and standardised education. Flying UAVs is costly both in terms of time and resources, and a simulated experience could act as an efficient complement. The application is designed with the principles of user-centered design at the core of the process, including evaluating the application from a usability perspective through user testing. This thesis also aims to investigate the Augmented Reality (AR) medium in the UAV training context. The final prototype received positive feedback in the evaluation. It was found that the AR medium comes with both strengths and weaknesses, mainly concerned with realism and the likeness to flying a real UAV. In conclusion, the prototype shows great potential as a complementary educational tool for UAV training.}},
  author       = {{Rosenberg, William and Sjögren Alpha, Fatima}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Simulating UAV Flight in Augmented Reality}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}