Unmanned airborne vehicle for geophysical surveying

Abstract

The present invention provides an un-manned airborne vehicle (UAV), for acquiring aeromagnetic data for geophysical surveying at low altitude on land or over water, comprising an extended fuselage that is adapted to hold and maintain magnetometer and a magnetic compensation magnetometer at a minimum distance from the avionics and propulsion systems of the UAV. The magnetometer measures magnetic anomalies and the magnetic compensation magnetometer measures magnetic responses corresponding to the pitch, yaw and roll of the UAV. A data acquisition system stores and removes the magnetic response measurements from the magnetic anomaly measurements. The data acquisition system also stores a survey flight plan and transmits the same to the avionics system. The generator of the UAV is shielded and the propulsion system is stabilized to reduce magnetic and vibrational noises that can interfere with the operation of the magnetometer.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to systems and methods for acquiring aeromagnetic data. More specifically, the present invention relates to autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that acquire aeromagnetic data for geographic surveying purposes. Background technique [0002] In the mineral and petroleum exploration industries, efforts are being made to identify new areas of geographic resources. Frequently, geographic techniques are employed to identify these areas, which may be at the Earth's surface or even at great depths beneath the ocean floor. [0003] One promising geographic technique is magnetic anomaly detection, which utilizes highly sensitive magnetometers to detect small changes in residual magnetism, which can indicate geographically significant changes or anomalies at great depths isolated by rock and / or water. The difficulty with this technique is that at the sensitivity with which the magnetometer must operate to detect return data ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

although this interference could be compensated for solely by shielding all electrical equipment, this would add significantly to the cost and weight of the UAV and could interfere with its flight characteristics

[0012] Furthermore, most UAVs are controlled by means of line-of-sight (LoS) communication, which thus requires a remote operator to be in close proximity to the flyover area and increases the known human factor involved

Also, many UAVs do not provide terrain following capability, because the number of waypoints must be programmed into the navigation system

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