Research and development of ARP VTOL platform with photogrammetric sensors for aerolevation

• Grant number: 18/24845-3
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Agreement: FINEP - PIPE/PAPPE Grant
• Principal Investigator: Cesar Antonio Francisco
• Grantee: Cesar Antonio Francisco
• Company: Engemap Engenharia, Mapeamento e Aerolevantamento Ltda
• CNAE: Atividades técnicas relacionadas à arquitetura e engenharia
• City: Assis
• Associated scholarship(s): 20/10594-9 - Arp platform research and development VTOL with photogrammetric sensors for aerial survey, BP.TT; 20/09392-2 - ARP platform research and development VTOL with photogrammetric sensors for aerial survey, BP.TT; 20/00007-9 - ARP platform research and development VTOL with photogrammetric sensors for aerial survey, BP.TT; + associated scholarships 20/00008-5 - Research and development of ARP VTOL platform with photogrammetric sensors for aerolevation, BP.TT; 20/00017-4 - ARP platform research and development VTOL with photogrammetric sensors for aerial survey, BP.TT; 20/00023-4 - Research and development of ARP VTOL platform with photogrammetric sensors for aerolevation, BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

Aerial photogrammetry or simply Aerophotogrammetry is a geographic survey activity in which photographs of terrains and objects are taken by special photographic equipment often mounted on conventional aircrafts. Although aerial survey has been carried out efficiently, the use of conventional aircraft incurs in high operational costs, such as: logistics and maintenance of ground and air personnel. In addition, these costs increase as survey activities are carried out in remote regions or far from urban centers. As an alternative, aerial survey with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), also popularly known as DRONEs or UAVs, has been increasingly applied for various civil purposes, such as mapping, whether systematic or for some specific project, such as cartography, planning and urban development, geology, energy, engineering: civil, agronomic, forestry, mineral etc. Currently there are two models of RPAs: fixed wing models and multirole models. Both have intrinsic characteristics which reflects in advantages and disadvantages; fixed-wing RPAs have extended autonomy, and are more productive, but demands catapults and / or runways near the survey areas. Multirotors RPAs in turn, can take off and land from any locality, but have their autonomy limited due aerodynamics and propulsion systems. In aerial survey activities using RPAs most flights are made at low altitude, usually below 120 meters, which becomes a limiting factor for coverage of large areas. In these cases, flight planning implies a greater number of lines in the route, and consequently, longer flight time. In addition, in many cases runways are located outside the geographic coverage area, in remote and difficult access areas which also limits the autonomy of the RPA. In other words, although the use of RPAs is quite positive for small areas, their use in larger survey areas has limitations on autonomy and flexibility, reducing thus productivity in obtaining high quality and accurate results in cartographic and topographic works. Therefore, it is the objective of this Research Project to develop a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) type RPA that is capable of transitioning between phases of flight, including vertical takeoff and landing without the need of runways/catapults, as well as, that is able to meet the standards established by ANAC for flights over 120 meters. In addition, it is also the objective of the Research Project to miniaturize the Engemap image acquisition platform called SAAPI, to enable the achieve planialtimetric mappings with quality and precision equivalent to the techniques used in geographic surveys by (PEC) and Cartographic Accuracy Standard for Digital Cartographic Products (PEC-PCD). (AU)