Airborne Base Maps – Simulated Minefield

signUAS equipment and expertise was provided by Fardoulis Robotics to the University of Bristol this week, for an Airborne Landmine Sensing project that the university is undertaking in conjunction with the Find a Better Way landmine charity. The task was to create base maps before ‘planting’ a simulated minefield for airborne sensing tests over the next two years at the university’s Fenswood Farm outdoor research facility at Long Ashton in Bristol.

Testing will take place of sensors and techniques in the United Kingdom, before open and blind trials begin on real mine fields abroad.

Planting simulated landmines, after the first aerial maps were created
Planting simulated landmines, after the first aerial maps were created

 

Planting of simulated mines then began, after reference base maps were generated, before the area was disturbed. We’re planning an airborne time-series evaluation of this area over the next two years.

Below are samples using the DroneDeploy cloud service, which we’re evaluating against Agisoft Photoscan and other post processing options.

 

A screen grab of the first vegetation map
A screen grab of the first vegetation map

 

A screen grab of a 3D model of the area
A screen grab of a 3D model of the area

 

A screen grab of the Digital Elevation Model
A screen grab of the Digital Elevation Model