Faculty Mentor Information
John Edwards
Presentation Date
7-2016
Abstract
Mapping terrain is difficult. Capturing river morphology or the shape of faults, cliffs or landslides can require a lot of time and manpower. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with a lidar sensor can examine entire landscapes at a time, capturing a detailed 3D view of nearly any geologic structure with very little error. Existing approaches allow for a UAV to follow a flight plan and capture data for later analysis. During analysis, though, the user will often find that the data gathered was unsatisfactory, necessitating another flight. This is a tedious workflow. This project aims to develop software for the real-time reception and analysis of data gathered by a lidar-equipped UAV. The user will view the incoming data and its analyses as the UAV is in flight and be able to correct the flight path accordingly. The user of the software will see an interactive model of the landscape with selected analyses shown in colors. The capability to easily map the environment will facilitate the improvement of many ecosystem services.
Real Time Lidar Terrain Mapping and Analysis
Mapping terrain is difficult. Capturing river morphology or the shape of faults, cliffs or landslides can require a lot of time and manpower. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with a lidar sensor can examine entire landscapes at a time, capturing a detailed 3D view of nearly any geologic structure with very little error. Existing approaches allow for a UAV to follow a flight plan and capture data for later analysis. During analysis, though, the user will often find that the data gathered was unsatisfactory, necessitating another flight. This is a tedious workflow. This project aims to develop software for the real-time reception and analysis of data gathered by a lidar-equipped UAV. The user will view the incoming data and its analyses as the UAV is in flight and be able to correct the flight path accordingly. The user of the software will see an interactive model of the landscape with selected analyses shown in colors. The capability to easily map the environment will facilitate the improvement of many ecosystem services.
Comments
Poster #W25