Nano Quadcopter for Autonomous Heat Source Detection

Nano quadcopters are increasingly being used for indoor inspections due to their small size and robustness. Recent advancements in thermal imaging technology have resulted in the development of small, cost-effective thermal sensor arrays that can be mounted on small robots, such as nano quadcopters. In this paper, we propose a nano quadcopter-based heat source detection system utilizing arrays of thermal sensors. Moreover, we present a cost-effective and portable system for detecting heat sources in indoor environments more efficiently. In this study, the AMG8833 sensor attached to the Crazyflie 2.1 platform is used to design the system. The sensor detects heat sources as input for an offboard heat detection system, which converts sensor input into quadcopter velocity. It directs the nano quadcopter's flight towards the heat source and stops it within the decision limit. Series of experiments were conducted to validate the systems by detecting a single heat source at three distinct locations. Overall, the proposed system was able to successfully navigate and detect a single heat source at three locations, arriving at a predetermined distance of 35 cm with an RMSE of 15.29 cm.