UAVs
of two SR-20s and control systems with onboard video cameras ready for deployment.
Rotomotion has a range of UAVs suitable for a wide variety of applications. These UAVs can take off autonomously, fly a series of waypoints autonomously using the onboard GPS for navigation, and land semi-autonomously. Applications include surveillance, search and rescue, and aerial photography.
Aerial Photography
Of particular interest to ADAM Technology's customers is the ability to acquire aerial images at very short notice in a short space of time at an incredibly low operating cost. In this respect, the UAV represents the aircraft equivalent of the digital camera revolution that has completely changed the face of photogrammetry in the last ten years — in the same way that digital cameras have massively reduced the turnaround time and cost of acquiring images and processing them, Rotomotion's UAVs massively reduce the turnaround time and cost of acquiring aerial images.
For smaller projects, like volumes of stockpiles or waste dumps, rehabilitation mapping, or even pit mapping, using an autonomous UAV to carry a digital SLR can be by far the most cost-effective option (Figure 2).
altitude of 121 metres (400 feet) and a ground pixel size of 3.6 cm. (Click on image for a full
resolution version.)
It is typical to be flying within 15 minutes of arriving at the site. Depending on the UAV and the configuration, flight times from 15 minutes to two hours are possible. 25 hectares can be photographed in about half an hour with a ground pixel size of under 4 cm and a height accuracy of under 4 cm, and with a modern PC the 54 images captured can be processed in 3DM Analyst Mine Mapping Suite in under two hours (Figure 3).
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100,000 points covering an area of 100 m × 100 m, or about one point per 10 cm × 10 cm with a height accuracy
of 3.5 cm.
Surveillance
In addition to digital SLRs, the UAVs can be equipped with normal video cameras (providing a live video feed on the ground station, optionally over a secure link) as well as infra-red video cameras for surveillance operations (Figure 4).
semi-autonomously.