Ground target tracking experiments using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are difficult to verify and the cost is high. To solve the problem

a simulation platform based on visual simulation software and MATLAB/Simulink was designed and implemented. First

vehicle was selected as ground target. The 3D models of UAV and vehicle were imported into the visual simulation software

and virtual gimbal and camera were set up. Next

the relative motions of the UAV

vehicle

and gimbal were used to simulate scene changes during the tracking process

and the gimbal control algorithm based on motion compensation ensured that the virtual camera always points at the target. Then

the virtual camera was used to capture the image of the target. The image tracking algorithm could track the target in the image and use the target image model to calculate the target position in the world coordinate system. Finally

according to the target position

the reference point guidance method was used to generate the desired roll angle command to guide the UAV to circle around the target. Closed-loop communication between visual simulation software

image tracking algorithm

and MATLAB/Simulink was carried out with UDP and shared memory. In addition

a practical and reliable calibration method was proposed to calibrate the internal matrix of the virtual camera in the visual simulation software. Simulation results demonstrate that the platform can simulate the tracking of ground target by using UAV

and the results have high reference value for engineering. The research in this paper provides a good simulation environment for target tracking experiments and can reduce the cost of experiment effectively.