scholarly journals UAV CAMERAS: OVERVIEW AND GEOMETRIC CALIBRATION BENCHMARK

Author(s):  
M. Cramer ◽  
H.-J. Przybilla ◽  
A. Zurhorst

Different UAV platforms and sensors are used in mapping already, many of them equipped with (sometimes) modified cameras as known from the consumer market. Even though these systems normally fulfil their requested mapping accuracy, the question arises, which system performs best? This asks for a benchmark, to check selected UAV based camera systems in well-defined, reproducible environments. Such benchmark is tried within this work here. Nine different cameras used on UAV platforms, representing typical camera classes, are considered. The focus is laid on the geometry here, which is tightly linked to the process of geometrical calibration of the system. In most applications the calibration is performed in-situ, i.e. calibration parameters are obtained as part of the project data itself. This is often motivated because consumer cameras do not keep constant geometry, thus, cannot be seen as metric cameras. Still, some of the commercial systems are quite stable over time, as it was proven from repeated (terrestrial) calibrations runs. Already (pre-)calibrated systems may offer advantages, especially when the block geometry of the project does not allow for a stable and sufficient in-situ calibration. Especially for such scenario close to metric UAV cameras may have advantages. Empirical airborne test flights in a calibration field have shown how block geometry influences the estimated calibration parameters and how consistent the parameters from lab calibration can be reproduced.

Author(s):  
Egil Ona ◽  
Guosong Zhang ◽  
Geir Pedersen ◽  
Espen Johnsen

Abstract Today, numerous scientific echosounders are used as continuously monitoring systems in ocean observatories. These echosounders are usually calibrated in shallow water, either in laboratory tanks or at random ocean docks before deployments. If the systems are used for quantitative measurements by the observatories, they should be calibrated at the operating depths to consider the environmental effects on the calibration parameters. In this article, a simple in situ calibration method is presented, which was recently applied to one of the nodes of the Norwegian Lofoten-Vesterålen ocean observatory, when the research vessel with dynamic positioning system suspended and moved the calibration sphere between the vessel and the transducer. The calibration results of a 70-kHz split-beam echosounder demonstrate that this method can be applied to the cabled observatories.


Author(s):  
J. A. Senn ◽  
J. P. Mills ◽  
P. E. Miller ◽  
C. Walsh ◽  
S. Addy ◽  
...  

Abstract. UAS imagery has become a widely used source of information in geomorphic research. When photogrammetric methods are applied to quantify geomorphic change, camera calibration is essential to ensure accuracy of the image measurements. Insufficient self-calibration based on survey data can induce systematic errors that can cause DEM deformations. The typically low geometric stability of consumer grade sensors necessitates in-situ calibration, as the reliability of a lab based calibration can be affected by transport. In this research a robust on-site workflow is proposed that allows the time-efficient and repeatable calibration of thermal and optical sensors at the same time. A stone building was utilised as calibration object with TLS scans for reference. The approach was applied to calculate eight separate camera calibrations using two sensors (DJI Phantom 4 Pro and Workswell WIRIS pro), two software solutions (Vision Measurement System (VMS) and Agisoft Metashape) and two different subsets of images per sensor. The presented results demonstrate that the approach is suitable to determine camera parameters for pre-calibrating photogrammetric surveys.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1505
Author(s):  
Ignacio Menéndez Pidal ◽  
Jose Antonio Mancebo Piqueras ◽  
Eugenio Sanz Pérez ◽  
Clemente Sáenz Sanz

Many of the large number of underground works constructed or under construction in recent years are in unfavorable terrains facing unusual situations and construction conditions. This is the case of the subject under study in this paper: a tunnel excavated in evaporitic rocks that experienced significant karstification problems very quickly over time. As a result of this situation, the causes that may underlie this rapid karstification are investigated and a novel methodology is presented in civil engineering where the use of saturation indices for the different mineral specimens present has been crucial. The drainage of the rock massif of El Regajal (Madrid-Toledo, Spain, in the Madrid-Valencia high-speed train line) was studied and permitted the in-situ study of the hydrogeochemical evolution of water flow in the Miocene evaporitic materials of the Tajo Basin as a full-scale testing laboratory, that are conforms as a whole, a single aquifer. The work provides a novel methodology based on the calculation of activities through the hydrogeochemical study of water samples in different piezometers, estimating the saturation index of different saline materials and the dissolution capacity of the brine, which is surprisingly very high despite the high electrical conductivity. The circulating brine appears unsaturated with respect to thenardite, mirabilite, epsomite, glauberite, and halite. The alteration of the underground flow and the consequent renewal of the water of the aquifer by the infiltration water of rain and irrigation is the cause of the hydrogeochemical imbalance and the modification of the characteristics of the massif. These modifications include very important loss of material by dissolution, altering the resistance of the terrain and the increase of the porosity. Simultaneously, different expansive and recrystallization processes that decrease the porosity of the massif were identified in the present work. The hydrogeochemical study allows the evolution of these phenomena to be followed over time, and this, in turn, may facilitate the implementation of preventive works in civil engineering.


2019 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 08003
Author(s):  
Maja Verstraeten

The SoLid Collaboration is currently operating a 1.6 ton neutrino detector near the Belgian BR2 reactor. Its main goal is the observation of the oscillation of electron antineutrinos to previously undetected flavour states. The highly segmented SoLid detector employs a compound scintillation technology based on PVT scintillator in combination with LiF-ZnS(Ag) screens containing the 6Li isotope. The experiment has demonstrated a channel-to-channel response that can be controlled to the level of a few percent, an energy resolution of better than 14% at 1 MeV, and a determination of the interaction vertex with a precision of 5 cm. This contribution highlights the major outcomes of the R&D program, the quality control during component manufacture and integration, the current performance and stability of the full-scale system, as well as the in-situ calibration of the detector with various radioactive sources.


Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Ridge ◽  
S. N. Jeffers ◽  
W. C. Bridges ◽  
S. A. White

The goal of this study was to develop a procedure that could be used to evaluate the potential susceptibility of aquatic plants used in constructed wetlands to species of Phytophthora commonly found in nurseries. V8 agar plugs from actively growing cultures of three or four isolates of Phytophthora cinnamomi, P. citrophthora, P. cryptogea, P. nicotianae, and P. palmivora were used to produce inocula. In a laboratory experiment, plugs were placed in plastic cups and covered with 1.5% nonsterile soil extract solution (SES) for 29 days, and zoospore presence and activity in the solution were monitored at 2- or 3-day intervals with a rhododendron leaf disk baiting bioassay. In a greenhouse experiment, plugs of each species of Phytophthora were placed in plastic pots and covered with either SES or Milli-Q water for 13 days during both summer and winter months, and zoospore presence in the solutions were monitored at 3-day intervals with the baiting bioassay and by filtration. Zoospores were present in solutions throughout the 29-day and 13-day experimental periods but consistency of zoospore release varied by species. In the laboratory experiment, colonization of leaf baits decreased over time for some species and often varied among isolates within a species. In the greenhouse experiment, bait colonization decreased over time in both summer and winter, varied among species of Phytophthora in the winter, and was better in Milli-Q water. Zoospore densities in solutions were greater in the summer than in the winter. Decreased zoospore activities for some species of Phytophthora were associated with prolonged temperatures below 13 or above 30°C in the greenhouse. Zoospores from plugs were released consistently in aqueous solutions for at least 13 days. This procedure can be used to provide in situ inocula for the five species of Phytophthora used in this study so that aquatic plant species can be evaluated for potential susceptibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1846
Author(s):  
Vivek Kumar ◽  
Isabel M. Morris ◽  
Santiago A. Lopez ◽  
Branko Glisic

Estimating variations in material properties over space and time is essential for the purposes of structural health monitoring (SHM), mandated inspection, and insurance of civil infrastructure. Properties such as compressive strength evolve over time and are reflective of the overall condition of the aging infrastructure. Concrete structures pose an additional challenge due to the inherent spatial variability of material properties over large length scales. In recent years, nondestructive approaches such as rebound hammer and ultrasonic velocity have been used to determine the in situ material properties of concrete with a focus on the compressive strength. However, these methods require personnel expertise, careful data collection, and high investment. This paper presents a novel approach using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to estimate the variability of in situ material properties over time and space for assessment of concrete bridges. The results show that attributes (or features) of the GPR data such as raw average amplitudes can be used to identify differences in compressive strength across the deck of a concrete bridge. Attributes such as instantaneous amplitudes and intensity of reflected waves are useful in predicting the material properties such as compressive strength, porosity, and density. For compressive strength, one alternative approach of the Maturity Index (MI) was used to estimate the present values and compare with GPR estimated values. The results show that GPR attributes could be successfully used for identifying spatial and temporal variation of concrete properties. Finally, discussions are presented regarding their suitability and limitations for field applications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 10480-10500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Chan ◽  
Derek Lichti

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