Stabilization system for camera control on an unmanned surface vehicle

Abstract

SeaFox is an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) primarily used for maritime security operations. Currently, a remotely operated vision based camera is used to track a particular target whilst the USV approaches the intended target. While the USV is in motion, the hydrodynamic forces and mechanical vibrations makes it difficult for the operator to lock on to the target at all times. This thesis addresses this issue through the development of a self compensated motion controller that uses geo-pointing to track and lock onto a target at all times. The disturbance data as captured by the onboard IMU sensor is used to establish parameters for the compensator. The compensated pan tilt angles are fed to the vision based camera through a PID controller. The controller developed will enable the vision based camera system to autonomously track the intended target independently of the motion of the USV.