Autonomous UAV Ground Control Point Assignment for Hazardous Sites
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for establishing Ground Control Points (GCPs) are time-consuming and pose safety risks, requiring human intervention in hazardous locations, which limits the efficiency and safety of the process.
Innovation Solution
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system that autonomously travels to designated geographic locations, marks or drops markers, and records GPS coordinates, significantly reducing human interaction and exposure to dangerous areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a person travels to each geographic location to manually mark and record GCPs, then accurate location information can be obtained, but the process becomes time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of traveling to locations with an automated aerial vehicle that can autonomously navigate to geographic coordinates, mark surfaces, and record location data. This substitution of mechanical human labor with an automated system resolves the contradiction by maintaining measurement precision while dramatically reducing the time required for GCP preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The aerial vehicle performs the entire GCP establishment process autonomously without requiring human intervention at each location. The system self-navigates to coordinates, self-marks the surface, and self-records location information, eliminating the time-consuming manual travel and marking process while preserving accuracy through automated GPS-based positioning.
2Measurement precision
If a person travels to hazardous geographic locations to establish GCPs, then necessary location data can be collected, but safety risks increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The aerial vehicle serves as an intermediary between the operator and hazardous locations. It performs the dangerous task of visiting and marking remote or unsafe geographic areas without exposing human operators to risk, while still collecting accurate location data through its onboard GPS and sensing systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces human physical presence in hazardous environments with an automated aerial platform equipped with GPS navigation and marking capabilities. This substitution eliminates safety risks associated with human travel to dangerous locations while maintaining the ability to collect precise location information for GCP establishment.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple GCPs are established across a large geographic area, then ortho-rectified imagery quality improves, but the preparation process becomes increasingly complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The aerial vehicle is designed as a multi-functional system that can perform navigation, surface marking, location recording, and data transmission across diverse geographic environments. This universal capability allows the same system to efficiently establish multiple GCPs across large areas without increasing operational complexity, as the vehicle handles all tasks autonomously through integrated systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous GCP establishment operations by autonomously transitioning between locations without requiring human intervention or setup at each site. The aerial vehicle can systematically visit multiple predetermined coordinates in sequence, maintaining continuous productive action and improving imagery quality through consistent, repeatable marking and recording processes across the entire study area.
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.