GPS World

Tag: QuestUAV

  • Gas sensors take flight on UAVs

    Gas sensors take flight on UAVs

    Remote sensing of atmospheric gas concentrations is important in monitoring global greenhouse gas levels and industry monitoring. Monitoring is usually carried out via satellite sensing or laborious ground-based measurements.

    With aerial measurement, a wider area can be measured efficiently, and repeat measurements taken of days, weeks and months gathering time-series data.

    Custom drone with gas sensor (circled).

    This spring, a study by QuestUAV and the British Geological Survey (BGS) used a custom QuestUAV Q200 airframe equipped with two sensors, one tuned for methane (CH4) and one for CO2. The sensors use an open-path gas mass spectrometer — a fiber-guided laser beam passed laterally across open atmosphere on top of the drone to a reflector and then back to the sensor itself.

    Signals from the sensors were fed into a multi-core processing unit on board the drone. All readings were stamped with time and location provided by the standard GPS and flight units in the Q200.

    The completed drone was commissioned in March. Over several months, trial flights were run over gas releases initiated manually on the ground over the test site. The recorded sensor data was processed immediately on return to base, and the data passed to BGS for analysis and appraisal.

    The team plans to fine-tune the operational workflow and maintenance tasks for regular missions.

  • Helping the blind see: UAV mapping turns UNESCO site into 3D model

    amphitheatre-rayCloud-pix4dmapper-pix4d-cyprus-O

    The ancient city-kingdom of Kourion on the southwestern coast of Cyprus can now be “seen” by those with impaired vision.

    Kourion, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Paphos, was once an important urban center. While most of the archaeological remains — including several buildings with well conserved floor mosaics — date to the Roman and Early Byzantine periods, the most ancient finds connect to settlements and tombs of the Ceramic Neolithic period (circa 5500-4000 BCE).

    A tactile map: In summer 2015, sections of the virtual 3D model, including the amphitheater, were printed in 3D and displayed in the visitor center with Braille explanations, providing an interactive history to those with visual impairments.
    A tactile map: In summer 2015, sections of the virtual 3D model, including the amphitheater, were printed in 3D and displayed in the visitor center with Braille explanations, providing an interactive history to those with visual impairments.

    British drone manufacturer QuestUAV, in cooperation with the Cyprus University of Technology, acquired high-resolution aerial images of Kourion Archaeological Park with a surveying drone, and then created a virtual 3D model from the images with Pix4Dmapper Pro.

    The QuestUAV team (a pilot and laptop commander) flew over 100 hectare of the archaeological park at 400 feet with a Q-200 Surveyor drone equipped with a Sony A6000 camera and a 16mm wide-angle lens, taking 330 aerial photographs during a 20-minute, fully autonomous flight.

    The automatic camera trigger and the gimbaled camera system enabled acquisition of pin-sharp pictures, even at wind speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour.

    The images have a ground sampling distance of 2.5 centimeters with an overlap of 80 percent in flight direction and 65 percent sidelap. During the flight, the Q-200 Surveyor recorded the GPS coordinates of each camera position in a log file, allowing for image geo-location.

    The entire survey took no longer than an afternoon.

    Aerial view of the ampitheatre.
    Aerial view of the ampitheatre.

     

  • UAV Product Showcase

    UAV Product Showcase

    BramorRTK-C-Astral-W

    GNSS Post-Processing UAS

    The Bramor RTK GNSS Post-Processing UAS is designed for surveying and remote-sensing applications that need a quick, high-precision set of results down to sub-centimeter level in the absence of a grid of ground control points. It is equipped with C-Astral high-rate GPS and IMU precision data-logging electronics. The system has both air and ground segments, consisting of a GNSS onboard receiver and ground base station. It has an L1 and L2 GNSS reciever (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo-ready), plus a survey-grade antenna.

    C-Astral, www.c-astral.com

    QuestUAV-water-W

    Aqua Drone for Offshore Missions

    The QuestUAV Aqua Pro is designed for offshore/onshore data-gathering in fields such as environmental, gas and oil, coast guard and security. It is a fixed-wing waterproof UAV based on the QuestUAV 200 airframe.

    The Aqua Pro is capable of offshore missions and recovery in both fresh- and salt-water environments. It can withstand pressure differentials induced by rapid temperature changes, and overcome complexities of waterproofing/marine-grade electronics, sensors and avionics. It uses a GPS unit from SkyCircuits.

    QuestUAV, www.questuav.com

    GAJT-AE-34-W

    Electronic Warfare System

    NovAtel’s GAJT-AE GPS anti-jam technology is designed for military and security weight- and size-constrained airborne and ground unmanned platforms, including UAVs. GAJT-AE provides the null forming antenna control electronics for a four-element controlled reception pattern antenna.

    NovAtel, www.novatel.com

    RIEGL_RiCOPTER_W

    High-Accuracy Laser Scans

    The Riegl RiCopter is an unmanned multirotor UAS, integrating a high-performance and complete LiDAR system, the RIEGL VUX-SYS. The VUX-SYS comprises the VUX-1 LiDAR sensor, the Applanix AP20 IMU/GNSS system, a control unit, and up to four high-resolution cameras.

    The Riegl RiCopter can acquire high-accuracy, high-resolution laser scan and image data. The excellent measurement performance of the VUX-1 in combination with a precise fiber-optic gyroscope and GPS/GLONASS receiver results in survey-grade measurement accuracy in fields such as precision farming, forestry and mining. The IMU/GNSS unit provides roll and pitch accuracy of 0.015 degrees and heading accuracy of 0.035 degrees. Riegl is a maker of laser scanners, and using a high-end unmanned airborne platform allows data acquisition in dangerous and hard-to-reach areas.

    Riegl, www.riegl.com

    eBee-RTK-over-mine-W

    Survey-Grade Mapping Drone

    The eBee RTK by senseFly is a fully autonomous survey-grade mapping drone with a built-in L1/L2 GNSS receiver capable of receiving corrections from most leading brands of base station. This ensures high positional accuracy without the need for ground control points, so the aerial photography can produce orthomosaics and 3D models with accuracy down to 3 centimeters. It has 226 channels and tracks GPS L1, L2, L2C; GLONASS L1, L2, L2C; and SBAS.

    Sensefly, www.sensefly.com