Investigating Practical Impacts of Using Single-Antenna and Dual-Antenna GNSS/INS Sensors in UAS-Lidar Applications

Details

• Journal Title:
  Sensors
• Personal Author:
  Brazeal, Ryan G. ; Wilkinson, Benjamin E. ; Benjamin, Adam R.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NOS (National Ocean Service)
• Description:
  Data collected from a moving lidar sensor can produce an accurate digital representation of the physical environment that is scanned, provided the time-dependent positions and orientations of the lidar sensor can be determined. The most widely used approach to determining these positions and orientations is to collect data with a GNSS/INS sensor. The use of dual-antenna GNSS/INS sensors within commercial UAS-lidar systems is uncommon due to the higher cost and more complex installation of the GNSS antennas. This study investigates the impacts of using a single-antenna and dual-antenna GNSS/INS MEMS-based sensor on the positional precision of a UAS-lidar generated point cloud, with an emphasis on the different heading determination techniques employed by each type of GNSS/INS sensor. Specifically, the impacts that sensor velocity and acceleration (single-antenna), and a GNSS compass (dual-antenna) have on heading precision are investigated. Results indicate that at the slower flying speeds often used by UAS (≤5 m/s), a dual-antenna GNSS/INS sensor can improve heading precision by up to a factor of five relative to a single-antenna GNSS/INS sensor, and that a point of diminishing returns for the improvement of heading precision exists at a flying speed of approximately 15 m/s for single-antenna GNSS/INS sensors. Additionally, a simple estimator for the expected heading precision of a single-antenna GNSS/INS sensor based on flying speed is presented. Utilizing UAS-lidar mapping systems with dual-antenna GNSS/INS sensors provides reliable, robust, and higher precision heading estimates, resulting in point clouds with higher accuracy and precision.
• Keywords:
  Drone GPS Heading Inertial Mobile Mapping UAV Unoccupied Aerial System
• Source:
  Sensors, 21(16)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.3390/s21165382
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA18NOS4000198
• Rights Information:
  CC BY
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:160036f113e459bd26e8eff8a3842ea5a3daebf81726abfbd3b58d7d813d9c7ad685a70775e13a379962f4504d6ee077ee85fd3ecf4ea2d5efa21c316b94c33a
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/32973/noaa_32973_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.34 MB ]