Suitability, characteristics, and comparison of an airship UAV with lidar for middle size area mapping

Abstract

In this article, the autonomous mapping airship (AMA) equipped with lidar along with its basic properties is introduced. Other methods and technologies using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or conventional aircraft are then compared to the AMA. Specifically automatic reconstruction from photographs acquired with fixed wing UAVs and lidar taken from conventional aircraft. Comparison of technologies was realized in the locality of a brown coal mine spoil heap. The size of the spoil heap interest part is about three square kilometres and it is covered with wind-blown vegetation (trees, grass, bush). We also measured about 100 height check points (HCPs) using real-time kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System technology for the purpose of accuracy analysis in the locality. One group of the HCPs were measured on the vegetation-free ground and the second group on ground with low vegetation (grass). Other properties of the methods used and the data acquired were also compared. The most important of these were data density, vegetation penetrability, speed of data collection, and economical aspects.