Employing Simulators for Collision-Free Autonomous UAV Navigation

Humans use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for a large variety of tasks like cinematography, agriculture, traffic monitoring, and disaster response. Before they are deployed in their missions, their functionalities can be tested in virtual scenarios, using simulators. These are programs that model the environment and physics of the real world, and offer a safe space for implementing and testing algorithms. In this paper, we propose the usage of AirSim and the creation of a natural environment in Unreal Engine 4 to solve the problem of low-altitude autonomous drone navigation for forest monitoring. We analyze the performance of our navigation methodology in a virtual forest environment. Our results showcase the high level of realism that can be achieved by the simulator and the difficulties which arise when deploying a drone in complex conditions.