Abstract
This work aims to study and compare different range finders applied to altitude sensing on a rotating wings UAV. The specific application is the altitude maintenance for the fluid deployment valve aperture control in an unmanned pulverization aircraft used in precision agriculture. The influence of a variety of parameters are analyzed, including the tolerance for crop inconsistencies, density variations and intrinsic factors to the process, such as the pulverization fluid interference in the sensor’s readings, as well as their vulnerability to harsh conditions of the operation environment. Filtering and data extraction techniques were applied and analyzed in order to enhance the measurement reliability. As a result, a wide study was performed, enabling better decision making about choosing the most appropriate sensor for each situation under analysis. The performed data analysis was able to provide a reliable baseline to compare the sensors. With a baseline set, it was possible to counterweight the sensors errors and other factors such as the MSE for each environment to provide a summarized score of the sensors. The sensors which provided the best performance in the used metrics and tested environment were Lightware SF11-C and LeddarTech M16.
Highlights
In agriculture, the pulverization of fertilizers and pesticides is of prime importance
This work approaches the problem of altitude sensing by comparing different the method for measurement (TOF) sensors with different measuring technologies
This is done by collecting data from the sensors in a same flight and, developing a reference baseline to which the sensors can be compared. This was developed by the use of signal filtration, competitive algorithm and, in the end, metrics built around MSE and a modification of it are used as a basis to the decision making process
Summary
The pulverization of fertilizers and pesticides is of prime importance. For smaller areas such as farm borders or uneven geometries, this method is not viable For these scenarios, farmers usually resort to hand spraying [1]. The primary function of LIDAR and LADAR sensors is to measure the distance between itself and objects in its field of view [2]. It does so by calculating the time taken by a pulse of light to travel to an object and back to the sensor, based on the speed of light constant [2], characterizing itself as a TOF sensor. The main difference between these two sensors is the divergence angle of the beam used
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