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Volume 9
Issue 11
10.3390/drones9110764
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Article

Depth-Based Safe Landing for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in GPS-Denied Environment

by
Miguel Angel Cerda
,
Jonathan Flores
,
Sergio Salazar
,
Iván González-Hernández
and
Rogelio Lozano
*
Program of Aerial and Submarine Autonomous Navigation Systems, Department of Research and Multidisciplinary Studies, Center for Research and Advanced Studies, Mexico City 07360, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Drones 2025, 9(11), 764; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9110764
Submission received: 20 September 2025 / Revised: 25 October 2025 / Accepted: 3 November 2025 / Published: 5 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Autonomous Drone Navigation in GPS-Denied Environments)
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Abstract

This paper presents a safe landing methodology for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) when the GPS-based navigation system fails or is denied or unavailable. The approach relies on the estimation of a flat landing area when landing is required in an unknown area. The proposed system is based on a lightweight computer vision algorithm that enables real-time identification of suitable landing zones using a depth camera and an onboard companion computer. Analysis of small, spatially distributed areas to calculate the mean altitude and standard deviation across regions enables reliable selection of flat surfaces. A robust landing control algorithm is activated when the area meets strict flatness conditions for a continuous period. Real-time experiments confirmed the effectiveness of this approach under disturbances, showing reliable detection of the safe zone and the robustness of the proposed control algorithm in outdoor environments.
Keywords: vision-based; GPS-denied navigation; autonomous landing vision-based; GPS-denied navigation; autonomous landing

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MDPI and ACS Style

Cerda, M.A.; Flores, J.; Salazar, S.; González-Hernández, I.; Lozano, R. Depth-Based Safe Landing for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in GPS-Denied Environment. Drones 2025, 9, 764. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9110764

AMA Style

Cerda MA, Flores J, Salazar S, González-Hernández I, Lozano R. Depth-Based Safe Landing for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in GPS-Denied Environment. Drones. 2025; 9(11):764. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9110764

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cerda, Miguel Angel, Jonathan Flores, Sergio Salazar, Iván González-Hernández, and Rogelio Lozano. 2025. "Depth-Based Safe Landing for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in GPS-Denied Environment" Drones 9, no. 11: 764. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9110764

APA Style

Cerda, M. A., Flores, J., Salazar, S., González-Hernández, I., & Lozano, R. (2025). Depth-Based Safe Landing for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in GPS-Denied Environment. Drones, 9(11), 764. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9110764

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