Numerical simulation and sensitivity analysis of UAS trajectory determination with robotic total stations

Abstract

In this study, we utilise the Monte Carlo method to evaluate the potential of total-station-based trajectory determination, specifically for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), within a simulated environment. We conduct a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to understand the various influences and their impact on trajectory uncertainty. Furthermore, we analyse the estimation of the UAS orientation based on images captured by the total station. The simulation results show that the uncertainty of the UAS trajectory for our scenario is on average about 8 mm for the position and 0.1 gon for the orientation angles.