Texas A&M; Transportation Institute
Principal Investigator and Technical Lead
1 July 2015 – 31 September 2015
Total award $140,165
It is imperative that infrastructure is properly maintained in order to accommodate the demand of today’s modern society. Information corridors, transportation corridors and pipelines are intrinsically a part of the modern society as many daily functions depend wholly and completely on their use. The need is to conduct assessments of physical infrastructure such as railroads, bridges, roads, pipelines, refineries, from a specified height above the ground. The assessments consist of structural integrity, wear, and safety inspections. The assessments are traditionally conducted by an on the ground mobile team with all equipment being field portable unit or units. However, many of the assessment items are sited in remote areas, areas difficult to access from the ground, or possibly located in hazardous areas. Therefore companies are deploying specialized teams and helicopters or short distance UAS’s to capture images of the infrastructure elements. Sensors that operate in both the infrared (IR) and visible spectrums are typically used. Additional sensors such as Laser Interferometry Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) offer an attractive capability to image an assessment item in three dimensions with defects or damage precisely located on the item, and should be considered. The Center for Autonomous Vehicles and Sensor Systems (CANVASS) is conducting an effort that will culminate in a technology demonstration of a UAS system for infrastructure assessment. All applicable Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) will be adhered to so that the system can be operated within domestic airspace. The demonstration will be conducted in realistic outdoor laboratory environments and controlled condition field environments. The effort will focus on integrated multi-spectral sensor (optical, infrared) and video analytics, for the purpose of demonstrating the technology and its benefits. Two preferred systems are being used for all sensor integration and infrastructure elements testing. One is a fixed-wing UAS with a multi-spectral sensor for larger area coverage. This is the CANVASS owned Anaconda UAS, a proven UAS that possess the payload capacity, flight performance (45 minute endurance), and rough field takeoff and landing capability for the proposed work. The second UAS is an octocopter that will also carry the multi-spectral sensor for close-in imaging. This vehicle is the Spread Wings S1000+ professional quality octocopter. The S1000+ weighs just 4.4kg and has a maximum takeoff weight of 11kg. It can easily carry the Multispectral camera plus future cameras and payloads. Used with a 6S 15000mAh battery, it can fly for up to 15 minutes. The UAS systems will be validated, verified, and tested in a series of five flights that will be conducted at the Riverside Range, TAMU Riverside Campus. The Riverside Range is part of the FAA Lone Star UAS Center. The purpose is to verify basic system operation, and collect data on test items of interest at known locations on the test range.
Working with me on this program are Research Assistants:
- James Henrickson, Ph.D student
- Frank Arthurs, Ph.D student
- Dipanjan Saha, Ph.D. student
- Joshua Harris, Ph.D. student
- Zeke Bowden, B.S. student
- Tyler Block, B.S. student
- Robert Clever, B.S. student
- Alexx Cisotto, B.S. student