PROCEEDINGS OF
THE 2004 INTERNATIONAL
SYMPOSIUM ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS (ISCAS '05)
May 23-26, 2005 Page(s): 4755 -
4758 Vol. 5
A LOW-POWER VISUAL HORIZON ESTIMATION CHIP
HORIUCHI, T. K.
Abstract—Recent successes in micro-aerial vehicles (< 15cm
length, wingspan, height), have highlighted the lack of real-time
sensors for flight control. In this paper we describe a low-power,
real-time visual horizon sensor for use in stabilizing miniature
aircraft with respect to pitch and roll in moderate-to-high altitude
flight. This prototype sensor incorporates a 12x12 photoreceptor
array and finds a best-fit horizon line based on image intensity.
The sensor includes a “confidence-level” output for a flight
control system to detect poor sensing conditions. The chip was
fabricated in a commercially-available 0.5μm CMOS process and
operates on less than 2.5 milliwatts with a 5V power supply.
Index Terms—analog VLSI, smart sensor, autonomous flight control, micro-aerial vehicles.