Drone Mission Definition and Implementation for Automated Infrastructure Inspection Using Airborne Sensors

Area of Science:

• Robotics and Automation
• Aerospace Engineering
• Civil Infrastructure Monitoring

Background:

• Current waypoint-based methods for drone inspections are inefficient.
• Manual mission planning for aerial infrastructure assessment is time-consuming and prone to errors.
• Need for advanced systems to automate and optimize drone-based inspection workflows.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel Mission Definition System (MDS) for automated infrastructure inspections.
• To improve the efficiency and accuracy of mission planning for multi-rotor drones.
• To enable the execution of complex measurement plans using commercial drones.

Main Methods:

• Developed a Mission Definition System utilizing high-level mission definition primitives.
• Integrated realistic flight models for advance simulation of inspection missions.
• Generated executable flight scripts and measurement plans for commercial drones.
• Implemented user interfaces for mission definition, 3D visualization, and flight evaluation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated improved planning efficiency compared to state-of-the-art waypoint-based techniques.
• Validated the accuracy of flight prediction tools through real-world infrastructure inspection flights.
• Successfully executed automated measurement plans using commercial drones.

Conclusions:

• The Mission Definition System significantly enhances the efficiency of drone-based infrastructure inspection planning.
• The system's simulation and automation capabilities ensure accurate and reliable flight operations.
• This approach facilitates the practical deployment of advanced aerial inspection technologies.