I-Corps: 3D Mapping and Monitoring using an Autonomous Kite UAV

研究小组提议开发一种工具，用于田野地质学家、高尔夫测绘行业和生态监测，其中使用安装在自动驾驶风筝无人机(UAV)上的摄像头绘制地形。这些摄像头可以是可视的、近红外的或热敏的，也可以是所有这些的组合。该系统可以生成高分辨率(1米)纹理数字高程模型(DEM)，可以与山体阴影和坡度地图等衍生产品一起上传到Google Earth，提供用户友好的监测和地图绘制方式。虽然目前有许多无人机技术和3D地图产品，但该解决方案具有以下特点：1)使用成本效益高的风筝平台，无需任何培训即可飞行2)多传感器集成能力，即集成可视摄像机与近红外和热像仪，支持农业监测、生态测绘和管道测绘领域的新型应用3)与Google Earth和地图集成，以便轻松有效地进行规划和可视化。将作为提案的一部分开发的工具将是直观和面向最终用户的。这将使无人机能够被不具备空中资质的人员有效地用于民用目的。性价比高的无人机可能会改变对大片地区的监测方式：从作物监测到牛只监测再到环境保护。作为该项目的一部分开发的工具可以使这些无人机有效地用于民用目的。这可能会开启农民、农业综合企业和地图专业人员可以使用的廉价、高性价比车辆的新时代，为企业提供前所未有的方式来提高他们可获得的信息的质量、可靠性和数量。

The research team proposed to develop a tool for field geologists, golf-mapping industry and ecological monitoring, in which topography is mapped using cameras mounted on an auto-piloted Kite Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These cameras could be visual, near-infrared or thermal or a combination of all of them. The system can generate high resolution ( 1 m) textured Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) that can be uploaded into Google Earth along with derived products such as hillshade and slope maps, providing user-friendly ways of monitoring and mapping. While there are currently a number of UAV technologies and 3D mapping products, this solution has the following features 1) Use of a cost-effective Kite platform that can be flown without any training 2) Multiple sensor integration capability i.e., integrating visual cameras with near-infrared and thermal cameras for enabling novel applications in the field of agricultural monitoring, ecological mapping and pipeline mapping 3) Integration with Google Earth and Maps for easy and effective planning and visualization. The tools that will be developed as part of the proposal will be intuitive and end-user oriented. This will enable UAVs to be used effectively for civilian purposes by non-air-qualified personnel.Cost-effective Unmanned Aerial Vehicles could change the way large areas are monitored: from crop monitoring to cattle monitoring to environmental protection. The tools that are developed as part of this project may enable these UAVs to be used effectively for civilian purposes. This could usher in a new era of inexpensive, cost-effective vehicles that can be used by farmers, agribusinesses, and mapping professionals, providing businesses with an unprecedented way of increasing the quality, reliability, and amount of information available to them.