Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as Data Mules for Reconnaissance and Environmental Monitoring

Transcription

1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as Data Mules for Reconnaissance and Environmental Monitoring - Srikanth Saripalli srikanth.saripalli@asu.edu ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY / SCHOOL OF EARTH AND SPACE EXPLORATION

2 Data Mules An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that has wireless communication capability sufficient amount of storage to store the data from the sensors in the field. Travels across the sensing field and collects data from each sensor node and later deposits all the data to the base station. Improve servicing strategies (time, $$$, safety) Telemetry: State of Health; data samples Robotic data retrieval Feasible for broad range of conditions (environmental; across political boundaries) Data mule flies to remote site based on flight plan or autonomous navigation Can be tasked to loiter at specific waypoints Design is to fly to site, make contact with ground recording system, loiter during WiFi data transfer Can also gather images and other relevant data

3 First Cut gm UAV Includes autopilot, GPS, camera 40 mph flight speed 1.5 kg payload capacity $1,000 per vehicle!!

4 Drawbacks of Low-Cost UAV Exploration in Field Tests Power Restrictions Batteries - limited flying time ~20 min Fuel - more expensive UAVs which require advanced pilots and frequent repairs Remote deployments make refueling/charging difficult in the field Wind/Weather Conditions Most small-scale UAVs are difficult to operate in winds exceeding 15m/s Inclement weather requires canceling tests Restricted Take-Off / Landing Locations Heavy vegetation or rough terrain can make landing UAVs very difficult. Reliability / Repairability Low-cost UAVs are often cheaply constructed and are prone to wear & tear, and require constant repairs and attention Other Concerns Waypoint following inaccuracies Payload carrying capacity

5 Fixed-Wing QuadRotor Helicopter Kite Plane Udrones Arduplane-AP-X Cost: $550 USD MikroKopter Quadro XL Cost: $1600 USD Rotomotion SR30 Cost: ~$15000 USD AUTOKITE Cost: < $1000 USD Autopilot: APM 2.5 Autopilot: FlightCtrlME Autopilot: Proprietary Autopilot: APM 2.5 Carrying Capacity: 300g Carrying Capacity: 2.5kg Carrying Capacity: 8kg Carrying Capacity: 1kg Time: ~20min Time: ~20min Time: ~90min Time: 50min + soaring Wind Tolerance: <15m/s Wind Tolerance: <10m/s Wind Tolerance: <20m/s Wind Tolerance: <15m/s UAV COMPARISON

6 COST V. PILOT EXPERIENCE

7 WIND SPEED V. FLIGHT TIME

8 REPAIR COST V. RELIABILITY

9 Aircraft Specifications Dimensions x 0.8 x 0.8 m Weight - 2kg Carrying Capacity - 1.3kg Wing Area - 1m² Wing Type - Delta Wind Tolerance - <15 m/s Avg. Speed - 6m/s Range > 10km Altitude - 500m SYSTEM DESIGN System Flow

10 Systems Specifications 12V Brushless Motor,1400 RPM w/ 10x4.7 Slow Flier Prop 12V Servos: Center of Gravity, Rudder, and Camera Tilt ArduPilot Mega 2.5 Controller 3000 mah LiPoly 2C discharge 2.4Ghz Radio RX/TX Xbee MHz Telemetry Canon SX-230 GPS enabled running CHDK intervalometer at 1Hz SYSTEM DESIGN

11 [ VIDEO ] FIELD USE

12 Point cloud and stitching generate structure from motion for images taken by AUTOKITE in the field. Generated by Agisoft s Photoscan STRUCTURE FROM MOTION

13 ORTHOPHOTO

14 ERROR

15 DEM

16 Future Goals On-demand Processing UAV can be tasked in real-time by remote station Survey Mode - Periodic Monitoring Regular Autonomous surveys Change detection Using 3D maps obtained from UAVs and comparing them with LIDAR data to detect 3d changes Telica Volcano Actual fault caused by the earthquake shown by green lines Direction of the arrows Red and white dots on either side of the fault showing height differences