Estimating UAV Altitude Based on Kalman Filter

The quality of UAV(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) altitude signals directly influences the precision of altitude control. The altitude, vertical velocity and vertical acceleration of UAV provided by the barometric altitude sensor, GPS, and INS, respectively in this paper are used to establish state equation and calibration equation. Subsequently the altitude information fusion obtained from sensors is realized by Kaman filter, and used to estimate the practical altitude. The mathematical simulation results in more precise altitude signal when compared to the single sensor. This study could provide a reference for UAV control technology design.