1. AirTheo “Autonomous solution to your surveying needs”
Alex Zahn
Brandon Kunkel
Madison Fisher

2. Alex Zahn Aerospace Engineering Class of 2017
Our Team’s Mission: To take the risk out of land surveying and provide better information at a cheaper cost
Alex Zahn Aerospace Engineering Class of 2017
Brandon Kunkel
Aerospace Engineering
Class of 2017
Madison Fisher
Information Technology (Cyber Security)
Class of 2020

3. DHL Report Summary Lessons Learned How does this help AirTheo?
Logistics businesses play to strengths/weaknesses of UAVS – Urban First and Last Mile
UAVs have difficulties in wind due to lightweight
How does this help AirTheo?
The UAV should be able to take all of its data within 20 minutes or less. Might need strategic flight planning for large land areas
AirTheo may need to be on the larger side for stability in harsher weather conditions

4. Land Surveying with Air Theo What’s Needed?
AirTheo Quad
Sensor package: IMUs, gyro, GPS mirror for laser calibration
Imaging Package: 2 x cameras, 2 x 3-Axis gimbals
Radio Transmission
Calibration modules: laser, gimbals, light sensor/CCD
Ground Station: Laptop/Tablet
Spare Parts and Batteries

5. Air Theo Operation Process
Arrive to survey site location
Unpack UAV(s) and plug in sensors, batteries, etc.
Turn on Ground Station, set # of AirTheos, choose survey area, and program develops flight path based on current topographical data. Options for manual flight path editing
Set UAV(s) on ground between calibration modules close to program specified distance
Initiate calibration
Once calibration is OK’d by ground station, initiate surveying
UAV(s) take off and survey the area, recording pictures and beaming data to ground station for processing
UAV(s) return to home once done

6. Air Operations – Transporting AirTheo
Drone Case
Ground Station Case
AirTheo
UAV
Spare Parts
(ex. propellers, hardware, etc.)
Calibration Module
Cal. Module Tripod
Cal. Module Tripod
Cal. Module Batteries
Tools for Maintenance
Calibration Module
Batteries
Ground Station Computer
Air Theo System is compact and easy to carry
One carrying case per drone, batteries, and spare parts
One case for calibration modules, tools, and ground station computer
After powering on drones, ground station computer pings drone(s) with encrypted security protocol
Upon response from the drone(s), the flight planning process is ready to begin

7. Air Operations – Flight Planning
UAV 1
UAV 2
START
Google Maps API integrated into software package
Designate area of interest (BLUE)
Program calculates the optimal flight path (Orange) based on number of drones and Google Maps topography

8. Air Operations – Setting up AirTheo
CAL
CAL
Calibration modules are placed at a distance apart, which is specified in flight planning software (useful for scaling calibration for larger plots of land)
AirTheo is placed between two calibration modules for distance measurement calibration
Calibration executed from within software on ground station computer

9. Air Operations – Calibrating AirTheo
First, calibration modules use laser system to find the distance to each other and GPS to determine location in relation to the surveying area
Next, AirTheo UAV hovers and moves between calibration modules to correlate UAV movement accurately to within ¼”
After calibration, surveying is ready to begin!
CAL
¼” is standard uncertainty in surveying measurements

10. Air Operations – Launching AirTheo
After calibration is completed, the user is prompted to begin surveying on the ground station software
The user can still make changes to the flight plan prior to launch
When told, the UAVs start the land survey!
The UAVs slowly take off vertically until 50 feet in the air (SAFETY FIRST)
50 feet
CAL
CAL

11. Air Operations – AirTheo Data Acquisition
The UAVs send their position, altitude, speed back to the ground station in real time, and the data overlaid on the flight path
The UAV takes pictures using two cameras and the ground station uses photogrammetric algorithms to develop an accurate 3D point cloud of the surveyed area
The images can also be used to color the point cloud

12. Air Operations – AirTheo Ground Station Output1.
There is a lot of potential for post processing the data acquired from the survey, for example:
Colored point cloud
Contour Map
Vectorized Map 2.
Possibilities of CAD file creation. Customer discovery suggested this was wanted. 3.

13. Important Factors for Successful Integration in NAS
Will not congest local airspace
Minimized potential for injury and harm
Operates within FAA boundaries for UAVs
Extra certification and permits needed for operation in high risk areas (i.e. cities)

14. How does AirTheo Integrate into NAS?
Congestion
AirTheo will have short mission durations
AirTheo will typically be used in areas with few people, and special care will be used in more dense areas
Minimize risk of injury
Flight planning software plans around risk areas, reducing/eliminating exposure to risky situations

15. Integration in National Airspace
Designed to only operates within Class G airspace
AirTheo will never need to fly more than 200 ft AGL
FAA certifications and waivers will be sought out for special circumstances

16. What’s Next? Customer discovery and outreach Product prototyping
Continue reaching out to new potential customers
Product prototyping
Research and development of key technologies
Pricing of parts
Proof of concept

17. Links Photogrammetry (Slide 12)
Photogrammetry and DEMDTM Modelling
Wikipedia Rapid 3D mapping
Topographical Maps (Slide 13)