Deep Transformer Network for Monocular Pose Estimation of Ship-Based UAV

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have seen a surge in usage across a multitude of industries, such as aerial photography, military operations, agriculture, mapping, and surveying. The advantages of UAVs over traditional manned aircraft are numerous, including cost-effectiveness, enhanced safety, and superior flexibility. However, the autonomous operation of UAVs, particularly their ability to land on moving platforms like ships, poses a crucial challenge. This capability is of significant importance for industries that depend on maritime transportation or offshore operations. A primary challenge in this context is the estimation of the UAV's relative pose with respect to the ship, which is vital for precise control of the UAV's movements and ensuring a safe landing. Conventionally, the relative pose has been determined using the Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning System (GPS). To receive RTK-GPS, a communication link between the ship and the UAV must be maintained at all times, typically via radio.