<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>One of the challenges faced by surveyors in acquisition of accurate spatial data for mining applications is the risk involved in acquiring data in rugged terrains and difficult or inaccessible areas. With the advent of modern technology, accurate geospatial data can now be safely obtained for proper mining documentation periodically. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for data acquisition in mine surveying has been a viable means of obtaining reliable geospatial data rapidly and efficiently. The main goal of this study is to develop a semi-automatic UAV-based system for the acquisition of spatial data required for the estimation of the volume of earthworks. A DJI Phantom 4 quadcopter was used for the acquisition of image data of the project site, while the images were processed into a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) using Pix4Dmapper v2.0.1, which was then imported into the MATLAB-based system developed for the automatic estimation of the volume of earthworks. The volume obtained from the automated system was thus compared with the volume obtained directly from the Pix4Dmapper software, having specified a contour interval of 1 and an allowable error rate of ±3% as the standard error. While ±1.02% error was observed in the volume estimated using the Pix4Dmapper, the developed automated system yielded an estimated precision of ±0.81% in its volume estimation, which proves to be more robust for automatic volume estimation in terms of accuracy and precision.</p>
</abstract>

One of the challenges faced by surveyors in acquisition of accurate spatial data for mining applications is the risk involved in acquiring data in rugged terrains and difficult or inaccessible areas. With the advent of modern technology, accurate geospatial data can now be safely obtained for proper mining documentation periodically. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for data acquisition in mine surveying has been a viable means of obtaining reliable geospatial data rapidly and efficiently. The main goal of this study is to develop a semi-automatic UAV-based system for the acquisition of spatial data required for the estimation of the volume of earthworks. A DJI Phantom 4 quadcopter was used for the acquisition of image data of the project site, while the images were processed into a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) using Pix4Dmapper v2.0.1, which was then imported into the MATLAB-based system developed for the automatic estimation of the volume of earthworks. The volume obtained from the automated system was thus compared with the volume obtained directly from the Pix4Dmapper software, having specified a contour interval of 1 and an allowable error rate of ±3% as the standard error. While ±1.02% error was observed in the volume estimated using the Pix4Dmapper, the developed automated system yielded an estimated precision of ±0.81% in its volume estimation, which proves to be more robust for automatic volume estimation in terms of accuracy and precision.

Development of a UAV-based system for the semi-automatic estimation of the volume of earthworks

Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics

Reports on Geodesy and Geoinformatics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

One of the challenges faced by surveyors in acquisition of accurate spatial data for mining applications is the risk involved in acquiring data in rugged...

Pix4D-computed volume [m³]	51 577.17
Error of volume [m³]	±527.61
Relative error [%]	1.02

Pix4D-computed volume [m³]	51 577.17
Proposed algorithm volume [m³]	51 157.30
Difference [m³]	±419.87
Relative error of the difference [%]	0.81

Technical Data	Parameters
Aircraft	diagonal size: 350 mm, battery: 1380 g, maximum wind resistance: 10 m/s, maximum flight time: approx. 28 minutes, satellite positioning system: GPS and GLONASS
Intelligent flight battery	capacity: 5350 mA h, voltage: 15.2 V, net weight: 462 g, energy: 81.3 W h
Gimbal	controllable range: pitch: −90° to +30°, stabilisation(3-axis; pitch, roll, yaw, maximum controllable angular speed: pitch: 90°/s
Camera	sensor: 12.4 MP CMOS, lens: FOV 94° 20 mm [35-mm format equivalent] f/2.8 focus at 1, image size: 4000 × 3000
Remote controller	Operating frequency: 2.400–2.483 GHz, battery: 6000 mA h LiPo25, operating current/voltage: 1.24@7.4V

Development of a UAV-based system for the semi-automatic estimation of the volume of earthworks

Article Category: Original Article

Pubblicato online: 31 dic 2020

Pagine: 21 - 28

Ricevuto: 27 giu 2020

Accettato: 27 ott 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rgg-2020-0008

Parole chiave
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, earthworks, stockpile volume estimation, spatial data, Digital Elevation Model

© 2020 Oluibukun G. Ajayi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

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Figure 8

Pix4D-estimated volume and error of the volume

Estimated volumes and variation of the proposed algorithm from Pix4D

Technical parameters of DJI Phantom 4 (Source: DJI (nd))

Development of a UAV-based system for the semi-automatic estimation of the volume of earthworks

Article Category: Original Article

Pubblicato online: 31 dic 2020

Pagine: 21 - 28

Ricevuto: 27 giu 2020

Accettato: 27 ott 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rgg-2020-0008

Parole chiaveUnmanned Aerial Vehicle, earthworks, stockpile volume estimation, spatial data, Digital Elevation Model

© 2020 Oluibukun G. Ajayi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Pix4D-estimated volume and error of the volume

Estimated volumes and variation of the proposed algorithm from Pix4D

Technical parameters of DJI Phantom 4 (Source: DJI (nd))

Parole chiave
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, earthworks, stockpile volume estimation, spatial data, Digital Elevation Model