Recommendations for the use of unmanned aeronautical systems equipped with photo recording equipment for assessing the condition of the runway coatings in the polar regions

Abstract

A method has been developed and tested for determining the albedo of the underlying runway surfaces located in the polar regions with the help of unmanned aircraft systems and the combined use of a photo-recording device and actinometrical equipment. The relevance of the non-contact method for assessing melting and thawing of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions is substantiated. The proposed original method is based on the use of an available measuring technique, which makes it possible to correctly estimate the albedo, reducing by several times the time spent on collecting data on large areas in hard-to-reach areas. The theoretical probability of using the proposed technical solution, and the results of its test tests in the polar regions with the help of high-tech equipment and unmanned aircraft systems of the simplest technical means are considered. Based on obtained results, an analysis was made of the operation of unmanned aircraft systems for assessing the state of runways and the application of the concept to the potential improving of the ways to collect field data in polar regions. The developed method of the hardware-software complex provides the possibility of fast and high-quality data collection on large areas, on the runways of the Arctic and Antarctic airports by the contactless method.

Keywords

• Arctic
• aircraft
• runway
• snow cover
• solar radiation method
• albedo
• testing