The light weight dual frequency on board GNSS system for sUAVs was first conceptualized in September 2011 when we were once again frustrated by the lack of vision of proprietary VTOL UAS manufacturers whom we could not convince of the advantages of on board dual frequency GNSS in sUAS mapping applications. Hence we decided to take the development of this cost saving feature in our own hands and built a universal, affordable, hot-exchangeable, dual frequency GNSS V-Map (shown above on a modified Steadidrone) receiver weighing less than 130g (antenna mounting and cables included) and running at 20Hz.

Shown below in photos dating back to 2012 the platform independent V-Map system is mounted on the Aibot X6 copter from Aibotix GmbH and on an md4-1000 from Microdrones GmbH. It can be mounted on fixed wing platforms as well.

Use the V-map system 

• in the air for GNSS supported SfM mapping,
• as a spatial reference back-bone in hydrographic surveying
• as well as in conventional terrestrial kinematic base-rover surveying as shown below

The V-Map system professionalizes small, modern, geo-spatial sensor platforms such as UAVs, remotely controlled autonomous boats and land vehicles. It empowers small mapping operations all over the world to make maps and geo-spatial products of professional quality. Equipped with an accurate event marker the V-Map system produces high precision camera exposure positions on dynamic platforms. The standard 1PPS port provides precision time tagging for hybrid surveying and data fusion applications. Additional ports for streaming RTCM and NMEA sentences can be furnished on request.

The V-Map concept: AFFORDABLE PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS through

• FLEXIBILITY
• RELIABILITY
• EASE OF USE
• HIGH PRECISION

Contact the V-team for more details

Last week, in Naples, Fl., at the AGM of the Florida Surveying and Mapping Society (FSMS) our sister company drone2GIS Inc. showcased a cross section of it's leading edge drone derived geo-spatial products . Have a look at the video here: 

The Mapping Revolution

We recently tested our Structure from Motion (SfM) and Virtual Surveying approach in a road survey scenario. The only significant manual work in the field was to survey ground control and check points. Image acquisition (with a Pixhawk equipped quad copter and a 24Mp camera) as well as SfM processsing was a highly automated exercise that quickly produced BIG data. To extract the essential data, Virtual Survey Tools was used to bring conventional field work to the safe and comfortable office environment. For more details see http://drone2gis.com/new-tools-for-accurate-and-safe-road-surveying/

Making maps with the help of small UAVs seems to be easy enough. However, when geometric accuracy is critical, how do you determine and state the estimated accuracy of your mapping product? One way is to establish a test bed with a redundancy of accurately surveyed check points which are used as independent bench marks against which the map can be compared. In this picture we show a comparison between high accuracy GPS derived check point coordinates and corresponding coordinates as derived from our 3D model. Note that for illustration purposes the horizontal errors were scaled by a factor of 1000.

The 3D model was created from 261 aerial images (13mm GSD) captured by a Sony a6000 camera with 16mm fixed lens. The camera was carried by a Pixhawk equipped modified Steadidrone quadcopter. The flying time was 10 minutes and, using our V-Map system (http://www.microaerialprojects.com/v-map/ ), we could accurately survey the 12 ground control points in about 15 minutes.

Using 105 check points in our error analysis we can now confidently claim that when we map similar terrain with this particular method we can realistically expect to achieve the following accuracy:

Horizontal approximate circular error at 95% confidence 0.028m
Vertical Accuracy at 95% confidence: 0.039m

Not bad, especially when considering that the 4.75ha map can be delivered the very next day after image acquisition.

Not only are they the safest, quickest method of quickly taking a snapshot of an entire highly dynamic site, they significantly reduce surveying costs. Adding powerful structure from motion (SfM) software and virtual survey tools to the equation means no boots on the ground and no need for interrupting any operations.

An example of the new geo-spatial products and virtual surveying and planning tools which we can bring to the farmer's kitchen table today - safely, harmlessly and economically, over and over again. All thanks to small UAVs - the new personal mapping systems. Thanks to the tremendous contributions from the DIY Drone community, small enterprises can now offer new cost saving solutions to virtually every sector of the economy. Mapping and modeling activities can now migrate to the long part of the "long tail". Let's hope they prosper there in peace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=963OypmuAoc

Last Friday I had fun witnessing Diether Engelhard and Andreas Breitenstein pulling off four 1hr flawess flights in one day with their APM1 equipped X8 to map some 900 hectares of farmlands in Namibia. The X8 covered a total distance of 240km to provide high resloution aerial imagery - altogether some 9000 20MP images captured with a Samsung NX 1000 camera. This is a classic example of how small, private sector enterprise entrepreneurism and initiative can lead a country to self sufficiency in mapping. Instead of procuring in the expensive coorporate international markets, often advantaged by donor country governments or international finance institutions, Namibia can now turn to it's very own small enterprises to intelligently update and enhance geo-spatial information as and where needed. The true agents of technology transfer, innovative applications and capacity building in the developing world are unfortunately all too often overlooked by the international development sector. 

Above is a video of a presentation we recently gave about the work we did for the World Bank in Albania. It shows that small drones are much more than toys - they have become productive tools for innovative surveyors.