Abstract
Abstract. We describe several remote sensing research projects supported with small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) operated by the NGA Basic and Applied Research Office. These sUAS collections provide data supporting Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), NGA University Research Initiative (NURI), and Cooperative Research And Development Agreements (CRADA) efforts in addition to inhouse research. Some preliminary results related to 3D electro-optical point clouds are presented, and some research goals discussed. Additional details related to the autonomous operational mode of both our multi-rotor and fixed wing small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) platforms are presented.
Highlights
The NGA Basic and Applied Research Office has been involved in a number of projects with several universities and companies to test various platforms and sensors with the aim of providing a low-cost, easy to use system in order to facilitate remote sensing research
Ohio State University’s Satellite Positioning and Inertial Navigation (SPIN) laboratory is working on the efficient compression of LiDAR wave forms and using small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) for LiDAR data collection
An extremely useful flight mode features the ability to circle around a Region of Interest (ROI) at a defined radius and altitude while the sUAS points at the center independent of its flight path
Summary
The NGA Basic and Applied Research Office has been involved in a number of projects with several universities and companies to test various platforms and sensors with the aim of providing a low-cost, easy to use system in order to facilitate remote sensing research. There are two active CRADAs. One is with St. Louis University (SLU) involving sensor integration to support sUAS and remote sensing research. The other is with Urban Robotics, Inc. that provides UAS support with novel approaches to 3-dimensional visualization and geopositioning. They will be exploring new methods of collecting and processing the sensor data to increase the development of 3D rendered maps from small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (sUAV) imagery. NGA is gathering the data provided by the universities and companies to apply to their own in-house research
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