Abstract-- In this work, we propose a robust network-in-the-loop control system that allows an Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicles to navigate and land autonomously on a desired target. To estimate the global pose of the aerial vehicle, we develop a deep neural network architecture for visual-inertial odometry, which provides a robust alternative to traditional techniques for autonomous navigation of Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicles. We first provide experimental results on the accuracy of the estimation by comparing the prediction of our model to traditional visual-inertial approaches on the publicly available EuRoC MAV dataset. The results indicate a clear improvement in the accuracy of the pose estimation up to 25% against the baseline. Second, we use Airsim, a simulator available as a plugin for Unreal Engine, to create new datasets of photorealistic images and inertial measurement to train and test our model. We finally integrate the proposed architecture for global localization with the Airsim closed-loop control system, and we provide simulation results for the autonomous landing of the aerial vehicle. I. INTRODUCTION Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicles (UAVs) can provide significant support for many applications, such as rescue operations, environmental monitoring, package delivery, and surveillance. To guarantee a high safety level in the UAV operation, it is crucial to have continuous monitoring of the state of the vehicle. Currently, the most standard techniques deployed for pose estimation are Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO) [1, 2] and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) [3-5].

Beyond trendy names like Tesla and Alphabet chasing self-driving cars, a host of auto brands and other tech heavyweights are also investing in autonomous R&D. Private companies working in auto tech are attracting record levels of deals and funding, with autonomous driving startups leading the charge. Along with early-stage startups, VCs, and other investors, large corporations are also angling to get a slice of the self-driving pie. From autonomy to telematics to ride sharing, the auto industry has never been at more risk. Get the free 67-page report PDF. Using CB Insights' investment, acquisition, and partnership data, we identified over 40 companies developing road-going self-driving vehicles. They are a diverse group of players, ranging from automotive industry stalwarts to leading technology brands and telecommunications companies. This list is organized alphabetically and focuses on larger corporate players in the space (as opposed to earlier-stage startups). Companies working on industrial autonomous vehicles were not included in this analysis. A few of the companies or brands listed below belong to the same parent organization but are detailed separately if they are operating distinct autonomous development programs. Some companies are grouped together by key partnerships or alliances. Given the complex web of relationships between these players, other collaborations are also noted in each profile. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of corporations working on autonomous vehicle technology. This brief was originally published on 9/25/2015 and featured 25 select corporations. It was updated and expanded on 5/17/2017, 9/4/2018, and 8/28/2019. Over the last decade, Amazon has spent billions of dollars working on finding ever-better solutions to the last-mile problem in delivery. It's built its own fleet of cargo jets, explored delivery by drone in the form of "Prime Air," and more. More recently, an increasing percentage of that investment has been directed toward autonomous vehicle technology. In February 2019, Amazon invested in Aurora Innovation, an autonomous tech startup run by former executives from two other firms with strong ties to self-driving technology: Google and Tesla. "Autonomous technology has the potential to help make the jobs of our employees and partners safer and more productive, whether it's in a fulfillment center or on the road, and we're excited about the possibilities." The Aurora investment isn't the only autonomous technology play that Amazon is pursuing. In January 2019, the company introduced the Amazon Scout, a six-wheeled electric-powered delivery robot.

Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 7 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com The U.S. military believes the unarmed drone that went missing over the Libyan capital last month was actually shot down by Russian air defenses. The U.S. Africa Command is demanding the return of the aircraft's wreckage, which had been part of an operation conducted in Libya to assess the area's security and monitor for violent extremist activity. The command didn't give a reason for the drone loss after the Nov. 21 incident, but they had been investigating, Reuters reported.

UAV enabled communications and networking can enhance wireless connectivity and support emerging services. However, this would require system-level understanding to modify and extend the existing terrestrial network infrastructure. In this paper, we integrate UAVs both as user equipment and base stations into existing LTE-Advanced heterogeneous network (HetNet) and provide system-level insights of this three-tier LTE-Advanced air-ground HetNet (AG-HetNet). This AG-HetNet leverages cell range expansion (CRE), ICIC, 3D beamforming, and enhanced support for UAVs. Using system-level understanding and through brute-force technique and heuristics algorithms, we evaluate the performance of AG-HetNet in terms of fifth percentile spectral efficiency (5pSE) and coverage probability. We compare 5pSE and coverage probability, when aerial base-stations (UABS) are deployed on a fixed hexagonal grid and when their locations are optimized using genetic algorithm (GA) and elitist harmony search algorithm based on genetic algorithm (eHSGA). Our simulation results show the heuristic algorithms outperform the brute-force technique and achieve better peak values of coverage probability and 5pSE. Simulation results also show that trade-off exists between peak values and computation time when using heuristic algorithms. Furthermore, the three-tier hierarchical structuring of FeICIC provides considerably better 5pSE and coverage probability than eICIC.

The 16th China Air Cargo Summit, held from Nov 12-14 in Hangzhou, deliberated on the trade slowdown, its impact on air cargo and most significantly, the opportunities e-commerce is creating for the industry. "Coming after just a couple of days after 11-11 (Singles Day in China), the figures show a 23-25 percent increase over the previous years demonstrates that e-commerce is one of the significant opportunities for air cargo. Not just for the next 2-20 years, but I think it will be a long-term significant trend in the way consumerism operates," said Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo, IATA during his address. Calling the industry to respond to the strategies of the e-commerce companies with agile and flexible solutions, Hughes further added, "Regardless of the strategies employed by the e-commerce companies, data is actually critical to enable those efficiencies." "There are two main challenges – technological and regulatory. The technological challenge is, without getting into details, small drones tend to use electric power, which means they rely on lithium batteries. The other disadvantage of lithium batteries is that they are very, very heavy. This severely restricts the range of operations. With small drones, you end up with a machine that weighs 20 kilogrammes and can carry one kilogramme. The economics are not very [good]. You have some companies implementing them, especially here in China. The adoption [of drones] hasn't been big because of that. When new technologies for batteries emerge and change that equation, it would dramatically change the landscape. About the other problem is regulation, and luckily we are seeing more and more regulators around the world, including here in China. They are proactive and create drone corridors, first for testing and eventually for licensing and operations. To this day there are no consistent cargo operations drones in the world. I see that changing in the next few years though," elaborated Rangelov.

Pizza-making robots are already here, and taking a pizza order is trivial for any half-decent chatbot. But if you're waiting for a robot to deliver your'za, you may be waiting for a while. It's not because autonomous navigation technology doesn't exist -- it's that the data set required to run it is too specific. Digital maps can lead a robot to your driveway, but there are no detailed directions from the curb to your door. Currently, robots rely on humans to manually map the environments in which they work.

Captivating images capture by custom-built drones have revealed the damage to the Greenland Ice Sheet that is being caused by rising global temperatures. The images, which have been taken as part of an EU-funded project to track changes in the world's second-largest ice sheet, are the first drone-based observations of how fractures form and expand under meltwater lakes. The expanding fractures cause catastrophic lake drainages, during which huge quantities of water are transferred to below the surface of the ice. Changes in ice flow occur on a much shorter timescales than were previously considered possible, said the research team, which was led by the University of Cambridge. 'It's possible we've under-estimated the effects of these glaciers on the overall instability of the Greenland Ice Sheet,' said drone pilot Tom Chudley, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge's Scott Polar Research Institute.

France's postal service has begun using drones to make parcel deliveries to a remote Alpine village. La Poste's subsidiary, DPD, says flying packages by remote control is more reliable, quicker and safer than driving a van up narrow mountain roads in winter when they are often icy or blocked by snow. The delivery by drone, which flies at around 30km/h, takes eight minutes for a round trip, compared with 30 minutes for a vehicle. Launched during a normal postal delivery round from a special launch-and-landing platform that emerges from the side of a vehicle, the drone is guided to a "secure terminal" near the village where it releases the package to be collected by the customer using a code. DPD began researching the possibility of using drones to make deliveries in 2014 and has been honing the technology ever since. La Poste was given permission by France's civil aviation authority to begin using the drones, which have six electric rotors that can be charged using solar panels, and a inbuilt GPS system, for deliveries in the Isère region of south-east France.

Owners of drones will be required to register their remote-controlled aircraft with the government so officials can quickly identify them after accidents, according to the land ministry. The government has yet to decide when to introduce the system, but it will include the necessary funding in the draft budget for next year, officials said Monday. Under the envisioned registration system, drone owners will have to file online their name and address, as well as details of their drones, such as the manufacturer, model and weight, and submit personal identification documents. They will then receive a registration number that should be attached to the drone. The aviation law, last revised in 2015, bans drone flights in densely populated areas, around airports and 150 meters or more above the ground without government approval.

SUBSCRIBE OUR CHANNEL It's hard to believe how far we've come. We launched just a few years ago with our surveillance drones, and in this short amount of time, we've retooled cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, such as deep learning and convolution neural networks, into hardware systems that governments and peace-keeping agencies can use to keep their troops safe. Now the artificial intelligence does all of the work. Our autonomous weapons are small, fast, accurate, and unstoppable. And they are just the beginning.