Computer Science and Engineering, Department of
ORCID IDs
Plowcha 0000-0002-0629-5319
Bradley 0000-0002-4201-6903
Ammon 0000-0003-0866-084X
Nail 0000-0002-5675-0332
Duncan 0000-0002-7289-8273
Detweiler 0000-0002-6369-4009
Date of this Version
3-2022
Citation
Field Robotics (March 2022) 2: 437–467
Systems article
Special Issue: General stream
doi: 10.55417/fr.2022015
Abstract
Automated, in-ground sensor emplacement can significantly improve remote, terrestrial, data collection capabilities. Utilizing a multicopter, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for this purpose allows sensor insertion with minimal disturbance to the target site or surrounding area. However, developing an emplacement mechanism for a small multicopter, autonomy to manage the target selection and implantation process, as well as long-range deployment are challenging to address. We have developed an autonomous, multicopter UAS that can implant subsurface sensor devices. We enhanced the UAS autopilot with autonomy for target and landing zone selection, as well as ensuring the sensor is implanted properly in the ground. The multicopter UAS, limited by onboard energy, can be carried by a transport aircraft to within 1 km of the desired sensor location site and deployed by a novel parachuting-canister system. Through a comprehensive set of field trials and testing, we assess the effectiveness of each subsystem. We evaluate our system on missions covering distances up to 25 km away in mountains 1 km above the takeoff location.
Included in
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Commons, Data Science Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Other Computer Sciences Commons, Remote Sensing Commons
Comments
Copyright 2022, the authors. Open access
License: CC BY