2026 · Completed
Visual Localization for Drones
GPS denied UAV localization: estimates a drone's absolute position by matching its camera imagery to satellite maps (SIFT + LoFTR), then streams the position live to QGroundControl over MAVLink.
- Python-QGC-Torch-MavLink-KalmanFilter-Georeferencing
Outcomes and learning
- Computer vision: feature matching, homography, and robust geometry estimation using RANSAC. - Experience with deep learning-based matching (PyTorch/Kornia) and GPU (Apple MPS) acceleration. - Georeferencing and map projections (Web Mercator, pixel↔WGS-84). - Smoothing of noisy measurements via state estimation (Kalman filter). - UAV communication protocols (MAVLink) and system integration.