Target Tracking-Based Online Calibration of UAV Electro-Optical Pod Installation Errors

作者：Yong Xu, Jin Liu, Hongtao Yan, An Wang, X. Xu, Yue Ma, Tian Yao · 发表于：Automation · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3390/automation7020059 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Advanced Control and Stabilization in Aerospace Systems、Aerospace and Aviation Technology、UAV Applications and Optimization

As the “visual perception hub” of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), electro-optical (EO) pods play an increasingly critical role in tasks such as intelligence gathering, situational awareness, target tracking, and localization. With the expanding scope and depth of UAV applications, higher demands are placed on the precision and adaptability of installation error calibration techniques for EO pods. Current mainstream calibration methods typically require specialized procedures under constrained conditions, while few approaches integrate existing UAV system capabilities and mission requirements, which leads to cumbersome, time-consuming processes and suboptimal alignment between calibration outcomes and task objectives. This paper proposes an online calibration method for UAV EO pod installation errors based on target tracking, which can rapidly compute the optimal closed-form solution for installation errors by leveraging UAV tracking missions. First, an observation equation for pod installation errors is established using tracking results. Second, multi-temporal observations are combined to model the calibration problem as an optimal rotation matrix estimation task, and then the optimal closed-form solution for installation errors is derived. Concurrently, a statistics-based approximate calibration method is introduced specifically for tracking missions. Furthermore, an online calibration system compatible with diverse UAV platforms is designed, along with different rapid cal...