HR: 16:50h
AN: V44A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: First Experiences Using Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Volcano Observation in the Visible Range
AU: * Buschmann, M
EM: marco.buschmann@mavionics.de
AF: Mavionics GmbH, Hermann-Blenk-Strasse 23, Braunschweig, 38108, Germany
AU: Krüger, L
EM: lars.krueger@mavionics.de
AF: Mavionics GmbH, Hermann-Blenk-Strasse 23, Braunschweig, 38108, Germany
AU: Bange, J
EM: j.bange@tu-bs.de
AF: Institute of Aerospace Systems, Technical University of Braunschweig, Hermann-Blenk- Strasse 23, Braunschweig, 38108, Germany
AB: Many of the most active volcanoes in the world are located in Middle and South America. While permanently installed sensors for seismicity give reliable supervision of volcanic activities, they lack the possibility to determine occurrence and extent of surface activities. Both from the point of science and civil protection, visible documentation of activities is of great interest. While satellites and manned aircraft already offer many possibilities, they also have disadvantages like delayed or poor image data availability or high costs. The Institute of Aerospace Systems of the Technical University of Braunschweig, in collaboration with the spin-off company Mavionics, developed a family of extremely small and lightweight Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), with the smallest aircraft weighting only 550~g (19~ounces) at a wing span of 50 cm (20~inch). These aircraft are operating completely automatically, controlled by a highly miniaturized autopilot system. Flight mission is defined by a list of GPS waypoints using a conventional notebook. While in radio range, current position and status of the aircraft is displayed on the notebook and waypoints can easily be changed by the user. However, when radio connection is not available, the aircraft operates on its on, completing the flight mission automatically. This greatly increases the operating range of the system. Especially for the purpose of volcano observation in South America, the aircraft Carolo~P330 was developed, weighting 5~kg (11~pounds) at a wing span of 3.3~m ( 11~ft). The whole system can be easily carried by car and the electric propulsion system avoids handling of flammable liquids. The batteries can be recharged in the field. Carolo~P330 has an endurance of up to 90~minutes at a flight speed of 25~m/s, giving it a maximum range of 67 km (41~miles). It was especially designed to operate under harsh conditions. The payload is a digital still camera, which delivers aerial images with a resolution of up to 8~megapixel. On a field campaign in 2005, the performance of the system was evaluated at the two active Ecuadorian volcanoes Cotopaxi and El~Reventador. After hand-launch at Mt. Cotopaxi, the autopilot brought the aircraft up to 7,000~m above sea level (starting from a plateau on 4,500~m a.s.l.), with temperatures around the freezing point. At El~Reventador active lava flows were documented in the tropical montane rain forest. Since the position and attitude of the aircraft is recorded within the autopilot system, the single aerial images can be referenced automatically after the flight to form a mosaic of images. The whole processing chain from mission planning to image mosaic takes less than half a day. Besides the technical details of this cost-effective remote sensing system, the results of the measurement campaign in 2005 will be presented. An outlook will discuss the installation of other payload for thermal imaging or air sampling.
UR: http:www.mavionics.de
DE: 8404 Volcanoclastic deposits
DE: 8419 Volcano monitoring (7280)
DE: 8485 Remote sensing of volcanoes
DE: 8488 Volcanic hazards and risks
DE: 8494 Instruments and techniques
SC: Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology [V]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly