Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security Applications
Security applications such as management of natural disasters and man-made incidents crucially depend on the rapid availability of a situation picture of the affected area. UAV-based remote sensing systems may constitute an essential tool for capturing aerial imagery in such scenarios. While several...
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doaj-c45bbabd94ef41d6b497d87c458ff2352020-11-25T00:03:58ZengMDPI AGISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information2220-99642019-05-018521910.3390/ijgi8050219ijgi8050219Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security ApplicationsDaniel Hein0Thomas Kraft1Jörg Brauchle2Ralf Berger3German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, GermanyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, GermanyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, GermanyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, GermanySecurity applications such as management of natural disasters and man-made incidents crucially depend on the rapid availability of a situation picture of the affected area. UAV-based remote sensing systems may constitute an essential tool for capturing aerial imagery in such scenarios. While several commercial UAV solutions already provide acquisition of high quality photos or real-time video transmission via radio link, generating instant high-resolution aerial maps is still an open challenge. For this purpose, the article presents a real-time processing tool chain, enabling generation of interactive aerial maps during flight. Key element of this tool chain is the combination of the <i>Terrain Aware Image Clipping</i> (TAC) algorithm and 12-bit JPEG compression. As a result, the data size of a common scenery can be reduced to approximately 0.4% of the original size, while preserving full geometric and radiometric resolution. Particular attention was paid to minimize computational costs to reduce hardware requirements. The full workflow was demonstrated using the DLR <i>Modular Airborne Camera System</i> (MACS) operated on a conventional aircraft. In combination with a commercial radio link, the latency between image acquisition and visualization in the ground station was about 2 s. In addition, the integration of a miniaturized version of the camera system into a small fixed-wing UAV is presented. It is shown that the described workflow is efficient enough to instantly generate image maps even on small UAV hardware. Using a radio link, these maps can be broadcasted to on-site operation centers and are immediately available to the end-users.https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/8/5/219UAV camera systemrapid mappingaerial imagingreal-time situation picturedisaster managementimage mosaicingdirect georeferencing |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Daniel Hein Thomas Kraft Jörg Brauchle Ralf Berger |
spellingShingle |
Daniel Hein Thomas Kraft Jörg Brauchle Ralf Berger Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security Applications ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information UAV camera system rapid mapping aerial imaging real-time situation picture disaster management image mosaicing direct georeferencing |
author_facet |
Daniel Hein Thomas Kraft Jörg Brauchle Ralf Berger |
author_sort |
Daniel Hein |
title |
Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security Applications |
title_short |
Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security Applications |
title_full |
Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security Applications |
title_fullStr |
Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security Applications |
title_full_unstemmed |
Integrated UAV-Based Real-Time Mapping for Security Applications |
title_sort |
integrated uav-based real-time mapping for security applications |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
issn |
2220-9964 |
publishDate |
2019-05-01 |
description |
Security applications such as management of natural disasters and man-made incidents crucially depend on the rapid availability of a situation picture of the affected area. UAV-based remote sensing systems may constitute an essential tool for capturing aerial imagery in such scenarios. While several commercial UAV solutions already provide acquisition of high quality photos or real-time video transmission via radio link, generating instant high-resolution aerial maps is still an open challenge. For this purpose, the article presents a real-time processing tool chain, enabling generation of interactive aerial maps during flight. Key element of this tool chain is the combination of the <i>Terrain Aware Image Clipping</i> (TAC) algorithm and 12-bit JPEG compression. As a result, the data size of a common scenery can be reduced to approximately 0.4% of the original size, while preserving full geometric and radiometric resolution. Particular attention was paid to minimize computational costs to reduce hardware requirements. The full workflow was demonstrated using the DLR <i>Modular Airborne Camera System</i> (MACS) operated on a conventional aircraft. In combination with a commercial radio link, the latency between image acquisition and visualization in the ground station was about 2 s. In addition, the integration of a miniaturized version of the camera system into a small fixed-wing UAV is presented. It is shown that the described workflow is efficient enough to instantly generate image maps even on small UAV hardware. Using a radio link, these maps can be broadcasted to on-site operation centers and are immediately available to the end-users. |
topic |
UAV camera system rapid mapping aerial imaging real-time situation picture disaster management image mosaicing direct georeferencing |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/8/5/219 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT danielhein integrateduavbasedrealtimemappingforsecurityapplications AT thomaskraft integrateduavbasedrealtimemappingforsecurityapplications AT jorgbrauchle integrateduavbasedrealtimemappingforsecurityapplications AT ralfberger integrateduavbasedrealtimemappingforsecurityapplications |
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