UAV Building Envelope Measurement With Turbulence-Shielded Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining the thermal performance of building envelope components like windows, walls, and roofs are inefficient and difficult, especially in high-rise buildings, and conducting manual measurements at a community or city level is impractical.
Innovation Solution
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with sensors, such as air velocity and temperature sensors, is used to perform non-intrusive measurements of building envelope surfaces, including windows and roofs, to calculate U-values or R-values, with a shield to mitigate rotor turbulence and enable accurate data acquisition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual measurement methods are used for building envelope surfaces, then measurement accuracy can be maintained, but the measurement process becomes impractical for high-rise buildings and community-wide applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from ground-based manual measurement to aerial UAV-based measurement, changing the measurement dimension from horizontal (ground level) to vertical (aerial perspective). This enables access to high-rise building surfaces that are otherwise inaccessible, while maintaining measurement capabilities through specialized aerial sensors and positioning systems
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement processes with an automated UAV system equipped with sensors, GPS, and automated flight control. The UAV autonomously navigates to building surfaces, positions measurement equipment, and collects data without human intervention, dramatically improving productivity while maintaining measurement quality through automated calibration and data processing
2Measurement precision
If the air velocity sensor is positioned close to the building surface for accurate measurement, then measurement precision improves, but rotor turbulence from the UAV interferes with the sensor readings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a shield structure as an intermediary element between the UAV rotors and the air velocity sensor. This shield blocks and redirects turbulent airflow generated by the rotors, preventing direct interference with the sensor while allowing the sensor to remain positioned close to the building surface for accurate measurements
Solution Approach 2:
The shield structure is positioned upstream of the sensor relative to the rotor turbulence flow, preemptively blocking turbulent air before it reaches the sensor. This preliminary protective action ensures clean, undisturbed airflow reaches the sensor, maintaining measurement precision without requiring the sensor to be positioned far from the building surface
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The UAV-based system allows for rapid, accurate determination of thermal performance, identifying degradation and energy loss, enabling energy-efficient upgrades and cost savings by comparing current performance to nominal values.
Implementation Method 1
a shield enclosure coupled to the arm member that is positioned near the top of the arm member to which the air velocity sensor is attached, wherein the shield enclosure is configured to shield rotor turbulence of the unmanned aerial vehicle from the air velocity sensor
Implementation Method 2
positioning, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, an infrared (IR) camera sensor within a remote distance range of the point on the external surface of the high-rise building; acquiring, by the infrared camera sensor of the unmanned aerial vehicle, IR measurements at an external surface of the high-rise building
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide unmanned aerial vehicle-based measurement techniques for building envelope surfaces One such method comprises acquiring, by an unmanned aerial vehicle, an air velocity measurement at an external surface of the high-rise building at a point on the external surface; and transferring, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, the air velocity measurement to a remote base station, wherein a current thermal performance of the external surface of the high-rise building is determined using the air velocity measurement.