Gool, Joris van (2026) Autonomous VTOL UAV Landing on Moving Naval Vessels: Conceptual and Functional Design Study. Design Project, Mechanical Engineering.
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Abstract
Abstract This study presents a conceptual and functional design study on the autonomous landing of a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on a moving naval vessel in a maritime environment. A systems engineering approach is adopted to address the inherent coupling between sensing, estimation, and control under dynamic ship motion and environmental disturbances. The study focusses on two main aspects: (i) a preliminary analysis of candidate sensor suites for reliable deck-relative localisation, and (ii) the development of a formation-based guidance and control strategy for autonomous approach and landing. The proposed control concept relies solely on relative measurements, is mathematically formalised, and is evaluated through extensive simulation under nominal, dynamic, and stochastic maritime conditions. The simulation results demonstrate that the approach can achieve stable and accurate relative navigation on the deck and landing performance within the defined operational envelope. Although the findings indicate promising feasibility, several limitations and challenges remain, particularly with respect to sensing robustness, environmental uncertainty, and system-level integration, which are identified as key directions for future work.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Design Project) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Szirbik, N.B. and Jayawardhana, B. |
| Degree programme: | Mechanical Engineering |
| Thesis type: | Design Project |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jan 2026 09:36 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jan 2026 09:36 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/37220 |
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