Abstract:  Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), currently under development throughout the world, will require miniature optical vision sensors and novel navigation stratagems, due to the difficulties of scaling down mechanical and radio based systems. DSTO and the Biorobotic Vision Laboratory at the Australian National University are collaborating with NASA and DARPA to develop micro and mini UAVs for military applications and planetary exploration. The concept demonstrator UAV system we are developing is required to show a high degree of autonomy and be small, robust and reliable. The demonstration will be a simulated planetary exploration mission at a “Mars analog site” in Northern Canada in 2004. Many of the underlying technologies for the mission have been demonstrated including optical flow for terrain following, stabilization using cheap optical sensors and compassing using sun position and the polarization pattern in the sky.

Resume:  Dr. Chahl completed his undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Newcastle in 1990. He did a graduate diploma in Neuroscience at the Australian National University in 1991, followed by a PhD in Neuroscience, which he completed in 1996. He is currently a Senior Research Scientist with DSTO Weapons Systems Division. He continues to run the Biorobotics laboratory at ANU, and is stationed in Canberra.