Autonomous Landing of AR.Drone

Inexpensive robotic toys are becoming widely available and though they are called toys, they provide gradually better sensing features and rising computational power. Adding new autonomous functions, such as autonomous landing for flying drones, helps the users with routine maneuvers and so allows using them with lower risk of breaks caused by loss of control in critical operational phases. In this paper we present software for autonomous landing of an AR.Drone – an affordable robotic quadricopter. This software uses an easy-tocustomize landing pattern and exploits only the sensors available on the drone. The whole landing process is simplified to a “push-button” approach for the end user, allowing for safer overall operation.