TOPODRONE Launches AQUAMAPPER – DRONELIFE

TOPODRONE Launches AQUAMAPPER Airborne Bathymetric Surveying Answer

by DRONELIFE Employees Author Ian M. Crosby

At world mapping present INTERGEO this week, LiDAR tools firm TOPODRONE has launched AQUAMAPPER, a UAV-based resolution for bathymetric surveying and marine building.  Bathymetric surveying is the underwater equal of topographic surveying, mapping the ground of rivers, lakes and oceans.  The brand new multitasking knowledge accumulating gadget has been efficiently deployed alongside TOPODRONE LiDAR ULTRA tools for the airborne surveying of a Romanian freeway building undertaking with the intention to present a digital twin of a scanned space.

The brand new AQUAMAPPER {hardware} integrates with different know-how to kind a complete set of photogrammetry, LiDAR and bathymetry surveying options. Upon being mounted to a UAV, AQUAMAPPER affords excessive pace effectivity (as much as 14 km/h) and accuracy. The PPK prepared resolution can also be appropriate with DJI Matrice 300 RTK. The {hardware} could be deployed for a variety of use instances, together with an open sea bathymetric survey as much as 100m depth, amount survey and calculation of sediments, and periodic upkeep survey of storage swimming pools.

TOPODRONE AQUAMAPPER and LiDAR ULTRA have been deployed in an airborne surveying mission at “Autostrada Sibiu – Pitești, Secțiunea 2: Boița – Cornetu”, a European highway building undertaking. The undertaking seeks to assemble a freeway in certainly one of Romania’s most rugged environments, and incorporates 7 tunnels, 24 bridges and 18 viaducts. The drone LiDAR hall and bathymetric survey was carried out by Romanian firm GRAPHEIN TOPO SA with the intention to produce correct maps and present info relating to terrain degree, buildings, roads, energy line networks, cadastral boundaries, and rivers. TOPODRPONE’s LiDAR ULTRA was deployed on board a DJI M300 drone, and was utilized to gather laser scanning knowledge from 100 – 120 meters above the forested terrain, protecting a 32 km lengthy and 400 meters huge hall over the course of 14 flights. On the similar time, AQUAMAPPER {hardware} connected to the identical drone carried out a bathymetry survey over 6 river crossings.

“The important thing benefit of the brand new bathymetric tools from TOPODRONE is the flexibility to seize a riverbed with centimeters degree accuracy with excessive pace in absolutely computerized mode and with out utilizing any boat. It permits us to work in arduous to entry and shallow water areas,” stated Andrei Sueran, GRAPHEIN TOPO SA. “The identical drone service can be utilized for each LiDAR & bathymetry surveys. The mixture of an echosounder, GNSS and Inertial measurement system helps to get correct outcomes after knowledge publish processing.”

Learn extra about drone payloads for aquatic missions:

Ian attended Dominican College of California, the place he acquired a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong ardour for writing and storytelling and a eager curiosity in know-how, he’s now contributing to DroneLife as a workers author.