mapping with unmanned airborne systems (uas)

Engineering | Architecture | Design-Build | Surveying | GeoSpatial Solutions

Mapping with Unmanned

Airborne Systems (UAS)

February 13, 2014

Copyright © 2010 Merrick & Company All rights reserved.

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Today’s Agenda

Introductions / ObjectivesCurrent UAS Regulations (FAA)UAS Components & TypesUAS NavigationSensor PayloadsUAS SoftwareInspection / Surveillance vs. MappingUAS Outdoor Mapping DeliverablesUAS Indoor MappingIndustry Forecast / Future Trends


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Today’s Objective

Provide an objective and practical review of current unmanned airborne mapping

capabilities


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Corporate OverviewCorporate headquarters: Greenwood Village, ColoradoFounded in 1955; employee-owned$110M annual revenue (FY13)> 480 employees at 15 domestic + 4 international officesMarket Focus

Energy National Security Life Sciences Sustainable Infrastructure

Market Sector Teams Infrastructure (Geospatial, Survey, Water & Civil Engineering) High Performance Facilities Energy Life Sciences Nuclear Services & Technology


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Presenter Bio – Bill Emison

• Senior Account Manager (Commercial Accounts) for the Geospatial Solutions (GSS) team

• Also provide support as Corporate Communications Specialist for Sustainable Infrastructure team; MARS® Product Manager

• Geospatial professional since 1993 with experience in solutions consulting; software & service sales; technical marketing and communications

• Employed by Merrick’s GSS team since January 2006.


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UAS ≠ Drones


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Jackass ALERT!!!

FAA warns public against shooting guns at drones"Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in

criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane."


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Current US (FAA) UAS Regulations

Currently, a Certificate of Authorization (COA) is required to operate an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in US national airspace

Only federal, state, or local agencies are considered for COA awards

FAA test sites (proving grounds) have been awarded to Virginia, Texas, Alaska, New York, North Dakota and Nevada; will conduct critical research into the certification and operational requirements necessary to safely integrate UAS into the national airspace over the next several years

Remote Control (RC) hobbyists can operate remotely controlled vehicles for recreational uses only:

Not allowed for commercial business use of any kind cannot fly to make money!

RC vehicle cannot exceed 400 feet above ground level (AGL)

RC vehicle cannot interfere with any type of air traffic - must be flown away from airports and air traffic

FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 658)

Signed into law on February 14, 2012 by President Obama

This bill orders the FAA to figure out how to integrate commercial UAV usage into the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS)

Also under the bill, the FAA is required to provide military, commercial, and privately-owned drones with expanded access to U.S. airspace by Sep. 30, 2015

That means permitting unmanned drones controlled by remote operators on the ground--also called unmanned airborne systems (UAS) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)--to fly in the same airspace as airlines, cargo planes, business jets and private aircraft.

More information can be found at http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/

http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/


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UAS Components

Aircraft Navigation System

Sensor Software

Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS)


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UAS Types

Fixed wing Efficient for area/site mapping

Typically flies racetrack or “mowing the yard” patterns

Best for persistent surveillance (orbital loitering)

Rotary – helicopter or “multicopter” (ex. quad / hexa / octo copters)

Best for slow, stabilized collection

Efficient for corridor mapping

Others – blimps, kites, gliders


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UAS Aircraft Comparisons


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Hawkeye RQ-84Z

www.hawkeyeuav.com

http://www.hawkeyeuav.com/


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UAS Navigation Remotely controlled

Third person view requires constant line-of-sight

not acceptable, too much risk

First person view requires video transmission

“soda straw” view, still high risk for collision with obstruction (tree branch, power line, etc.)

Pre-defined flight plan (auto pilot) Accurate digital surface models required

Fully autonomous - detect, sense, and avoid (DSA) obstacles for collision avoidance


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UAS Sensor Payloads Video Imagery Thermal Magnetometer Purpose driven

remote sensing tools Radioactive

measurement Gas detection Acoustic detection Signal detection

LiDAR


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USACE Buckeye LiDAR UAS continued


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UAS Software

Surveillance / Inspection MappingReal-time video or image downlink Flight planning

Flight controls Flight management

Primary flight display Data download / coverage check

Camera controls APM and AT

Object tracking Surface model extraction

Video stabilization Orthorectification

Waypoint navigation Mosaicing

Video or image post processing Analysis


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Surveillance / Inspection vs. Mapping

Emphasis

Duration

Stabilization for zoom

Some transmit real-time video/imagery,

others store for review later

More emphasis on image/video gathering,

less on geographic placement of data

Typically used in situations that are

dull, distant, or dangerous

Sensor types

Imagery

Video

Products

Non-georeferenced digital imagery

Non-georeferenced digital video

Possibly structure from motion (SFM)


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Surveillance / Inspection Examples


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UAS Outdoor Mapping

Filling the gap between traditional

topo surveying and the medium and

high altitude photogrammetry

Sensor types Electro Optical (EO / RGB)

Small Format, Non-metric, Digital

Cameras

Medium Format, Metric, Digital

Cameras

Other Sensor Types Color Infrared (CIR)

Multi-Spectral Imagery (MSI)

Thermal Infrared (TIR)

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI)

Oblique Imagery

Video

Products Orthophoto Mosaics (Ortho)

Digital Surface Model (DSM)

Planimetric Map Products

Change Detection

Volumetrics

3D Modeling


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UAS Outdoor Mapping Deliverables


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UAS Indoor Mapping

Autonomous Navigation

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM)

Real-time Sensor Processing Required

Detect, Avoid, Collect

Minimize Occlusions

Products

3D Models

360° Panoramas

Point Clouds

CAD Files


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Industry Forecasts

Chris Anderson, Wired.com, June 2012:

“All told, there are probably around 1,000 new

personal drones that take to the sky every month (3D

Robotics, a company I cofounded, is shipping more

than 100 ArduPilot Megas a week); that figure rivals

the drone sales of the world’s top aerospace

companies (in units, of course, not dollars). And the

personal drone industry is growing much faster.”

Teal Group market study – “World Unmanned Aerial

Vehicle Systems – 2011”

UAV spending is on pace to double during the next decade from

current worldwide expenditures of $5.9 billion annually to $11.3 billion,

totaling just more than $94 billion. The study suggests the United

States will account for 77 percent of the research and development

spending on UAV technology during the next decade and about 69

percent of the procurement.

The UAV electro-optical/infrared sensors (EO/IRS) system market has

entered a period of continuing steady growth. Teal Group estimates

that U.S. spending alone on such systems will grow from $813 million

in fiscal year 2011 to nearly $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2020.


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Future Trends

Consumers Lower cost

Easier use – more automation

Integration into consumer products (like Google Earth)

Professionals Larger (MP) and better (metric) cameras

More variety of sensors

LiDAR

Hyperspectral

Sensor fusion

Automated and real time data processing

Persistent surveillance

Solar powered stratospheric platforms data relay

various monitoring tasks

Technology Fleets of multiple UAS via flocking and

networking technologies

Improvements in autonomous controls

Detect, Sense, and Avoid (DSA) for collision avoidance

3D modeling for navigation

Range imaging

LiDAR

Standardization of control system and common use between different kinds of UAV

Improved stabilization

Better fuel cells enabling longer flight times

Miniaturization - micro UAS

Automated in-flight decision making and actionable use

What LiDAR was to terrain mapping 10+ years ago, unmanned aerial systems will be to aerial surveillance, inspection, and mapping in 5-10 years


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Contact Information

Merrick & Company: www.merrick.com

Unmanned Airborne Services: www.merrick.com/uas

Bill Emison, Senior Account Manager

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: (303) 353-3634

Twitter: @Merrick_Geo

http://www.merrick.com/

http://www.merrick.com/uas

mailto:[email protected]

https://twitter.com/Merrick_Geo