Research
Our aim
The aim of all projects is to extend the current limits of drone-based measurements. The potential of mobile measurement technology with drones is to be researched in theory and application and progress is to be made in the relevant metrological principles. Specifically, the following four topics will be addressed:
- Measurement principles and methods,
- sensor technology,
- signal processing and communication,
- Evaluation of measurement quality and resources
By combining the individual project work and the cross-project collaboration in the priority programme, the foundations for a new paradigm are to be created: Drones as flying measurement platforms for valid, quantitative measurements with a measurement uncertainty specification.
Our research approaches
Measuring principles and methods
Development of new measurement principles and methods for drones. With regard to the principles, active measurement methods (laser-optical, acoustic or thermal excitation and radio wave or laser scanning) that go beyond purely passive camera systems, for example, are to be utilised or new measurement methods based on locally measuring sensor systems are to be investigated. In particular, methods for correcting interference caused by environmental and drone influences will also be researched.
Sensor technology
In the field of device technology, the greatest challenges are the limited availability of resources such as space, weight, energy and time, with correspondingly limited possibilities for sensor technology, data pre-processing, data storage and data transfer. For this reason, the suitability of existing sensor concepts is to be researched and concrete advances in sensor miniaturisation and the minimisation of energy and power requirements are to be pursued.
Signal processing and communication
In the area of signal processing, the aim is to make progress in low-energy measurement data evaluation and transmission as well as more energy-conscious signal processing methods and communication concepts. Based on drone-based individual sensor systems, their combined use with sensor data fusion and communication is also being investigated in order to realise the measurement capability for more sensor sizes.
Evaluation of measurement quality and resources
Finally, the drone-based sensor and measurement systems will not be evaluated solely on the basis of the measurement uncertainty achievable with the environmental and drone influences, but the achievable measurement quality will always be evaluated in conjunction with the resources used: space, weight, energy and time. This extended, multidimensional evaluation, a ‘cost calculation’ of the required resources per measurement uncertainty and the identification of scaling mechanisms are intended to enable comparability on the one hand and to enable the flexibly configurable potential of measurement technology on flying measurement platforms to be described in a standardised way on the other.
