Autonomous UAV Cinematography

Abstract

The use of camera-equipped Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, or "drones") for professional media production is already an exciting commercial reality. Currently available consumer UAVs for cinematography applications are equipped with high-end cameras and a degree of cognitive autonomy relying on artificial intelligence (AI). Current research promises to further exploit the potential of autonomous functionalities in the immediate future, resulting in portable flying robotic cameras with advanced intelligence concerning autonomous landing, subject detection/tracking, cinematic shot execution, 3D localization and environmental mapping, as well as autonomous obstacle avoidance combined with on-line motion re-planning. Disciplines driving this progress are computer vision, machine/deep learning and aerial robotics. This Tutorial emphasizes the definition and formalization of UAV cinematography aesthetic components, as well as the use of robotic planning/control methods for autonomously capturing them on footage, without the need for manual tele-operation. Additionally, it focuses on state-of-the-art Imitation Learning and Deep Reinforcement Learning approaches for automated UAV/camera control, path planning and cinematography planning, in the general context of "flying & filming".