UAV Ground Control Point Assignment for Safer Site Marking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for preparing Ground Control Points (GCPs) are time-consuming and pose safety risks, especially in hazardous locations, as they require manual travel and marking, which can be dangerous and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system that autonomously travels to designated geographic locations, marks or drops markers, and records GPS coordinates to establish GCPs, reducing human interaction and safety hazards while increasing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual travel and marking methods are used to establish GCPs, then location information can be obtained, but preparation time is excessive and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations (traveling to locations, setting up tripods, marking surfaces) with an automated aerial vehicle that can autonomously navigate to geographic locations, capture images, and establish GCPs. This substitution dramatically reduces preparation time while maintaining the precision of location information through automated GPS/ GNSS systems and image processing algorithms.
2Ease of manufacture
If manual marking of GCP locations is performed, then geographic locations can be designated, but safety hazards increase in challenging environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an aerial vehicle as an intermediary between the operator and hazardous environments. The vehicle carries marking devices (such as spray systems or marker deployment mechanisms) that can safely designate GCP locations in challenging terrains, near cliffs, or in areas with dangerous equipment, eliminating the need for personnel to physically access these hazardous zones while maintaining the capability to establish accurate control points.
3Manufacturing precision
If more GCPs are established to improve imagery accuracy, then ortho-rectified imagery quality increases, but preparation time and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous establishment of multiple GCPs through automated aerial vehicle operations. The vehicle can systematically visit multiple pre-planned locations, establish markers, and capture images in a continuous workflow without the interruptions and setup/teardown time associated with manual methods. This maintains high productivity even when establishing numerous GCPs across large areas, thereby improving imagery accuracy without proportionally increasing preparation time.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for ground control point assignment and determination. One of the methods includes receiving information describing a flight plan for the UAV to implement, the flight plan identifying one or more waypoints associated with geographic locations assigned as ground control points. A first waypoint identified in the flight plan is traveled to, and an action to designate a surface at the associated geographic location is designated as a ground control point. Location information associated with the designated surface is stored. The stored location information is provided to an outside system for storage.