Uncrewed Systems Technology 047 l Aergility ATLIS l AI focus l Clevon 1 UGV l Geospatial insight l Intergeo 2022 report l AUSA 2022 report I Infinity fuel cell l BeeX A.IKANBILIS l Propellers focus I Phoenix Wings Orca

Integrating metric cameras with a survey-grade Lidar payload means we can capture Lidar and photgrammetry data in one flight 57 and anything else our clients might need.” The company’s standard choice of EO camera is a Sony RX1R. It weighs 480 g and produces 7952 x 5304 pixel images, while a Micasense Altum is used for hyperspectral imaging to capture images in the blue, green and red spectral bands with resolutions of 248 x 1544 pixels. For Lidar missions the Air Barrow typically carries a YellowScan Mapper, which scans at 240,000 Hz and weighs 1.8 kg (and can also integrate a 19.8 MP EO camera for fused visual and Lidar point data). It has an MTOW of 24.897 kg to conform to Part 107 and similar standards. It is capable of up to 63.17 knots with a stall speed of 32.39 knots (although as mentioned it can switch to hover in the air), and a 132 Wh battery is installed for voltage balancing and back- up power. “The blended wing body has a 2.987 m wingspan and is 1.5 m across, and its aerodynamic shape means it takes very little energy to fly,” Konig adds. In addition to flight time and efficiency, sensor stability is vital to infrastructure surveys, and Orthodrone’s eponymous UAS is optimised for that, with its rotor arms capable of rotating about its body to offset wind-related disturbances that would otherwise disrupt the 2D and 3D data being captured by its sensors. “We are now doing mixed-sensor surveys of wind farms, through which we’re able to create synergetic Lidar and photogrammetry data sets,” explains Juri Klusak, CEO of Orthodrone. “Integrating up to two metric, medium- format cameras with a survey-grade Lidar payload means we can capture Lidar data and photogrammetry data at the same time. Combining the millimetre-level resolution of our structure-from-motion models with the vegetation penetration of our Lidar cloud, the resulting model has both passive and active near-surface remote sensing. “That is important, because most critical infrastructure surveys rely on several separate data sets: general mapping or change detection, vegetation management and inspection. These jobs all used to rely on different data sets to get the job done, but our solution is based on a single merged model that can be acquired with just one flight.” That enables Orthodrone to provide critical 3D mapping analysis for terrestrial wind farm planning, as well as encroachment surveys of any vegetation getting too close to energy infrastructure such as power lines. The Lidar provides critical penetration measurements through branches and bushes towards the ground, and the cameras provide high-resolution colour data for artificial structures. “The Lidar also captures detail where the structure-from-motion photogrammetry can reach its limits, such as around the shiny white Geospatial surveys | Insight Uncrewed Systems Technology | December/January 2023 Orthodrone’s combined Lidar and camera surveys (as well as intelligent software) is enabling smart analyses such as highlighting vegetation encroaching on powerlines (Courtesy of Orthodrone)