Test Methods to Evaluate Mapping Capabilities of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems in Constrained Indoor and Subterranean Environments

Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) are being increasingly deployed for the U.S. Army, whose missions include operating in GPS-denied environments such as constrained indoor or subterranean spaces. Mapping of these environments is a critical capability that sUAS can fulfill, but test methods are needed to evaluate their performance. This paper presents several test methods for evaluating sUAS mapping capabilities along several metrics in scenarios intended to closely resemble field operations. Each test method is reviewed in terms of test parameters, apparatuses, procedures, and metrics with some example performance data from a representative sUAS.