1. Centre for Landscape and Climate Research 500MHz unit on experimental UAV © Sterling Power Group 2014 Radar profile from flight at University of Leicester testing ground, showing two parabolic responses in the centre of profile © author 2015 RESEARCH ON UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES AS A PLATFORM FOR LIGHTWEIGHT GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR UNITS Mark A. Collins 1, Heiko Balzter 1 & Phil Cooper 2 1 Centre for Landscape and Climate Research, Department of Geography, University of Leicester 2 Sterling Geo – www.sterlinggeo.com INVESTIGATING LIGHTWEIGHT RADAR The purpose of the research is to investigate the possibilities of using new small, lightweight and highly-portable ground-penetrating radar (GPR) units from Sterling Geo, part of the Sterling Power Group, to investigate sub- surface features. An advantage of GPR, as with other remote-sensing techniques, is that data can be derived without the expense or inconvenience of destructive excavation. The primary differences between these units and other GPR units are: these units are smaller than previous examples; they are designed to be used at higher speeds than trolley-based systems; data transfer is by wi-fi. These differences mean that the units can be mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which will potentially allow surveys to be taken quickly and cheaply, as well as providing the opportunity to survey previously-inaccessible areas and areas where the ground-conditions are not suitable for standard GPR surveying equipment, which is likely to mean that the units will be able to be used in many novel locations. Establish survey grid Set site conditions Capture profile Check raw data Post- processing Finished profile Checking data in the field © Sterling Power Group 2014 Above: UAV with radar in flight at University of Leicester testing ground © SPG 2014; below: piloting the UAV © SPG 2014 POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS If the principle of utilising GPR from a UAV is successfully established, then the system can be used for rapidly surveying large areas as well as surveying areas which are inaccessible and areas where conventional surveys are not possible because of surface conditions. This will have implications in civil engineering & construction; environmental & resource management; archaeology & heritage management. The development of larger UAVs with increased payloads could allow larger GPR units to be used with implications for mineral prospecting. FUTURE WORK The concept appears to be sound; the configuration of the radar units delivers convincing results when used with a UAV. However further research into the system is called for. Accurate GPS position will allow the profiles to be used to assemble 3D models of sub-surface features; currently the GPS hardware is not sufficiently accurate to enable this to happen. Stable UAV platforms are important. Flying at a fixed height and a constant speed increases the usability of the data, though it is possible to ‘stretch’ the data on the profile to fit. More testing needs to take place in a variety of work environments, to determine the systems’ suitability for construction, environmental and archaeological surveying. Different surface-types need to be investigated such as peat, waterlogged soils and man-made surfaces like asphalt. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research is supported by the IRSA-ERDF scholarship and Sterling Geo, part of the Sterling Power Group. Many thanks to the CLCR team, especially Virginia Nicolas-Perea, Pedro Rodriguez-Veiga, Valentin Louis & James Wheeler for invaluable help with poster design. Scan number mac79@le.ac.uk