Vision Based Following of Locally Linear Structures using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

Inspecting and monitoring oil-gas pipelines, roads, bridges, power generation grids is very important in ensuring the reliability and life expectancy of these civil systems. An autonomous UAV can decrease the operational costs, expedite the monitoring process and be used in situations where manned inspection is not possible. This paper addresses the problem of monitoring these systems using an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which follows the locally linear structures using visual feedback.