Remotely piloted mobile mapping systems - Towards robotic mapping

远程导航移动测绘系统正在成为推动三维地理空间数据获取和三维制图发生革命性变化的技术推动力，并导致地球测量学领域的范式转变。小型和轻型无人驾驶车辆系统(UVS)的使用不断增加，正在改变地球测量学的应用，并为测量和建模室外和室内环境创造了新的创新机会。无人机补充并在许多情况下取代了全站仪和激光扫描仪，并作为灵活的移动测量系统运行。微型化技术和微电子机械系统(MEMS)从根本上减轻了许多部件和电子系统的尺寸和重量，导致了规模更小、成本更低的无人驾驶航空和地面测绘系统的发展。 然而，“更轻、更小、更简单、更便宜”并不意味着更简单的处理软件系统。事实上，需要高度复杂的处理来克服小型、轻型平台和采集系统不可避免地性能有限的挑战。拟议的研究计划涉及小型移动平台和商用现成的导航和地图传感器。目标是开发低成本、小型遥控空中和地面移动测绘系统，用于机器人室外和室内三维几何、拓扑和专题测绘。它的重点是开发新的和改进的方法、算法和系统，用于在已知和未知的非结构化和不断变化的环境中进行三维导航和测绘，开发快速和实时测绘的快速算法，包括障碍感检测和回避在内的路径规划，用于土地覆盖测绘和精准农业的低空遥感，以及利用协作移动平台进行导航和测绘。 在这一快速崛起的尖端技术和经济领域开发专门知识、技术、方法和算法将对加拿大产生巨大的社会经济影响，从应急响应到自然资源管理，从监测偏远和北极地区到高科技发展，再到技术出口。在这一领域受过培训的HQP将成为这一领域的科技领先者。预计在本研究计划期间，将对1名博士、3名博士、3名硕士和至少5名本科生进行培训。

Remotely piloted mobile mapping systems are becoming the technological impetus for revolutionizing three dimensional geospatial data acquisition and 3D mapping and causing a paradigm shift in the field of geomatics. The ever increasing use of small and light-weight Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS) are changing the geomatics applications and creating new and innovative opportunities for measuring and modeling outdoor and indoor environments. UVS compliment, and in many cases replace, total stations and laser scanners, and operate as flexible mobile survey systems. Miniaturization technologies and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have radically reduced the size and weight of many components and electronic systems leading to the development of unmanned aerial and ground mapping systems of smaller scale and of lower cost. However, ‘‘lighter, smaller, simpler and cheaper’’ does not mean simpler processing software systems. Actually, highly sophisticated processing is required to overcome the challenges of the unavoidably limited performance of small, light-weight platforms and acquisition systems. The proposed research program involves small mobile platforms and commercial off-the shelf navigation and mapping sensors. The objective is the development of low-cost, small remotely piloted aerial and ground mobile mapping systems for robotic outdoor and indoor 3D geometric, topological and thematic mapping. It focuses on the development of new and improved methods, algorithms and systems for 3D navigation and mapping in known and unknown unstructured and changing environments, on developing fast algorithms for rapid and real-time mapping, on path planning including obstacle sense detection and avoidance, on low altitude remote sensing for land cover mapping and precision agriculture and on the use of collaborative mobile platforms for navigation and mapping. Developing know-how, technology, methods and algorithms in this fast emerging, cutting edge technological and economical field will have tremendous socio-economic impacts for Canada from emergency response to the management of natural resources, to monitor remote and Arctic areas to high-tech developments, to technology exports. HQP trained in this area will be the scientific and technological leaders of this area. It is anticipated that 1 PDF, 3 PhD, 3 MSc and at least 5 undergraduate students will be trained during the duration of this research program.