Researchers trying to land drone on moving car

TORONTO – Drone Delivery Canada Corp., the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) and Ford Motor Company are collaborating on research to make an automated drone track and land on a moving ground vehicle.

“This work could greatly expand the applications quadrotor drones are useful for,” said associate professor Steven Waslander of the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies.

“The more advanced they become, the better they will be at inspecting infrastructure, search and rescue in remote environments, tracking moving objects for security, and delivering light-weight packages.”

The researchers plant to execute repeated landings on a moving vehicle, maintaining the relative position accuracy to within 10 centimeters, as the speed of the target vehicle increases.

“Foundational research infrastructure, coupled with world-class researchers, leads to groundbreaking discoveries,” said Ramin Farnood, U of T Engineering’s vice-dean of research.

“With the support of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, our U of T Engineering researchers can continue to be leaders in their field and make positive, vital contributions to our society and the economy.”