Development of a Wireless Video Transfer System for Remote Control of a Lightweight UAV

Abstract: A team of developers from Epsilon AB has developed a lightweight remote controlledquadcopter named Crazyflie. The team wants to allow a pilot to navigate thequadcopter using video from an on-board camera as the only guidance. The masterthesis evaluates the feasibility of mounting a camera module on the quadcopter andstreaming images from the camera to a computer, using the existing quadcopterradio link. Using theoretical calculations and measurements, a set of requirementsthat must be fulfilled for such a system are identified. Using the requirementsas a basis, various camera products are investigated and the findings presented.A design to fulfill the requirements, using the found products, is proposed. Theproposed design is then implemented and evaluated. It is found that the Crazyflie system has the resources necessary to transferan image stream with the quality required for navigation. Furthermore, theimplementation is found to provide the required functionality. From the evaluationseveral key factors of the design that can be changed to further improve theperformance of an implementation are identified. Ideas for future work andimprovements are proposed and possible alternative approaches are presented.