Development of position tracking and guidance system for Unmanned Powered Parafoil Aerial Vehicle

An experimental Unmanned Powered Parafoil Aerial Vehicle (UPPAV) was developed to gather aerial data. Certain characteristics like low-speed, low-cost, and high stability makes the powered Parafoil a versatile and promising platform for surveillance and imaging applications. UPPAVs are easy to operate, robust and safe and have high flight duration. The developed UPPAV has a chassis fitted with a high torque Brushless DC motor, Servo motor and a Parafoil wing. This paper describes development of the position tracking and guidance system using the GPS unit placed on the chassis. It focuses on the extraction and transmission of the specific GPS values like longitude, Latitude and Altitude from the bulk values obtained. The GPS navigation system will provide continuous position of the system. These obtained values can be used by the pilot to maneuver the system to the desired location. The developed system mounted on the chassis consists of Microcontrollers, GPS, and 433 MHz transreceivers.