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Vision-Based Autonomous Drone Control using Supervised Learning in Simulation

2020/09/09 by Max Christl, Christl, Max
Computer Science · Engineering · #Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Machine Learning (cs.LG) #Robotic Path Planning Algorithms #Robotics (cs.RO) #Robotics and Sensor-Based Localization #UAV Applications and Optimization

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2009.04298

openalex publication_date 2020/09/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Limited power and computational resources, absence of high-end sensor equipment and GPS-denied environments are challenges faced by autonomous micro areal vehicles (MAVs). We address these challenges in the context of autonomous navigation and landing of MAVs in indoor environments and propose a vision-based control approach using Supervised Learning. To achieve this, we collected data samples in a simulation environment which were labelled according to the optimal control command determined by a path planning algorithm. Based on these data samples, we trained a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that maps low resolution image and sensor input to high-level control commands. We have observed promising results in both obstructed and non-obstructed simulation environments, showing that our model is capable of successfully navigating a MAV towards a landing platform. Our approach requires shorter training times than similar Reinforcement Learning approaches and can potentially overcome the limitations of manual data collection faced by comparable Supervised Learning approaches.

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