SLAM Drone Senior Project

As our senior design project, our group chose to work with a SLAM algorithm and run it on a drone. Deep learning was part of the intended navigation approach, giving the system a way to make better decisions based on training data.

The project was the culmination of our undergraduate engineering education and was presented for Fresno State Projects Day in May 2018.

Our group liked drones, computers, and automation, so we wanted a project that combined those interests into a meaningful challenge. After attending a drone conference in Las Vegas, we set our sights on creating something that integrated navigation, mapping, and machine learning.

The concept coupled Jetson's computing capabilities with Intel RealSense sensing to create an autonomous system that could operate in a given environment while mapping its location. We planned to start with 2D navigation using a ground-based rover before expanding into a flying drone.

It was a year-long project that went beyond putting a couple of sensors together. It became a shared engineering effort across hardware, software, sensing, and controls.