Marker-Based 3D Position-Prediction Algorithm of Mobile Vertiport for Cabin-Delivery Mechanism of Dual-Mode Flying Car

This paper presents an image-processing technique for cabin delivery employing local localization and docking in a mobile station, which is a mobile vertiport for the use of dual-mode flying cars. A dual-mode flying automobile with an aerial electric vehicle (AEV), a ground electric vehicle (GEV), and a cabin is a future method of transportation that can be used in both the air and on the ground. To enable AEVs to land in a specific position, a landing site is necessary. The proposed AEV uses vertical take-off and landing, and a vertiport landing site is required. As vertical take-off and landing sites require a lot of space and are challenging to operate in multiple positions, we suggest a mobile vertiport that can fit into a small space. A mobile station is appropriate for dual-mode flying cars since it includes critical activities such as transporting AEVs from the ground and charging as well as a cabin-delivery system. The mobile station can generate a path to the AEV by calculating the relative position using the markers attached to the AEV and estimating the position of the landing AEV. The mobile station detects a marker for precise positioning correction, followed by exact position correction for cabin delivery, to travel to the accurate position of the AEV. To increase the success rate of cabin delivery, docking markers are identified and the angle position error between the mobile station and cabin is computed and corrected to rectify the position between the cabin and the mobile station for cabin delivery. In addition, the experimental results revealed a mechanically correctable error range that encompassed all experimental values. Consequently, this study showed that image processing may be used to create a mobile station for dual-mode flying automobiles.