LIGHT-WEIGHT SENSOR PACKAGE FOR PRECISION 3D MEASUREMENT WITH MICRO UAVS E.G. POWER-LINE MONITORING

Abstract

The paper describes a new sensor package for micro or mini UAVs and one application that has been successfully implemented with this sensor package. It is intended for 3D measurement of landscape or large outdoor structures for mapping or monitoring purposes. The package can be composed modularly into several configurations. It may contain a laser-scanner, camera, IMU, GPS and other sensors as required by the application. Also different products of the same sensor type have been integrated. Always it contains its own computing infrastructure and may be used for intelligent navigation, too. It can be operated in cooperation with different drones but also completely independent of the type of drone it is attached to. To show the usability of the system, an application in monitoring high-voltage power lines that has been successfully realised with the package is described in detail.