Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Suspended Magnetometer Survey for Mineral Data Acquisition with Vertical Take-off and Landing Fixed-wing Aircraft

Robel Efrem, Alex Coutu, Sajad Saeedi

Abstract

Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)s have recently become an important instrument for collecting mineral data, enabling more effective and accurate geological investigations. This paper explores the difficulties in mounting high-sensitivity sensors on a UAV platform, including electromagnetic interference, payload dynamics, and maintaining stable sensor performance while in flight. It is highlighted how the specific solutions provided to deal with these problems have the potential to alter the collection of mineral data assisted by UAVs. The work also shows experimental findings that demonstrate the creative potential of these solutions in UAV-based mineral data collecting, leading to improvements in effective mineral exploration through careful design, testing, and assessment of these systems. These innovations resulted in a platform that is quickly deployable in remote areas and able to operate more efficiently compared to traditional multirotor UAVs while still producing equal or higher quality mineral data. This allows for much higher efficiency and lower operating costs for high-production UAV-based mineral data acquisition.

Suspended Magnetometer Survey for Mineral Data Acquisition with Vertical Take-off and Landing Fixed-wing Aircraft

Abstract

Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)s have recently become an important instrument for collecting mineral data, enabling more effective and accurate geological investigations. This paper explores the difficulties in mounting high-sensitivity sensors on a UAV platform, including electromagnetic interference, payload dynamics, and maintaining stable sensor performance while in flight. It is highlighted how the specific solutions provided to deal with these problems have the potential to alter the collection of mineral data assisted by UAVs. The work also shows experimental findings that demonstrate the creative potential of these solutions in UAV-based mineral data collecting, leading to improvements in effective mineral exploration through careful design, testing, and assessment of these systems. These innovations resulted in a platform that is quickly deployable in remote areas and able to operate more efficiently compared to traditional multirotor UAVs while still producing equal or higher quality mineral data. This allows for much higher efficiency and lower operating costs for high-production UAV-based mineral data acquisition.
Paper Structure (10 sections, 15 equations, 8 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 10 sections, 15 equations, 8 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Literature Review
  3. Proposed Method
  4. Sensor Integration
  5. UAV and Magnetometer Modifications
  6. Cable Length for Suspended Payload
  7. Results
  8. Conclusions and Future Works
  9. (Derivations)
  10. Calculations for Mineral Data Acquisition Methods

Figures (8)

  • Figure 1: Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing aircraft taking off with the suspended payload.
  • Figure 2: (Left) VTOL aircraft mounted to EMI measurement frame. The magnetometer sensor is on a stand to the right of the aircraft (shown in the picture on the middle).(Right) Diagram of how the sensors were placed with respect to the drone for EMI testing. The GSMP-35U Potassium Magnetometer (top right and bottom left) was placed between 5-12m from the drone and the GSM-19 Overhauser magnetometer (bottom right) was placed 100m away as a neutral reference
  • Figure 3: Free body diagram representing the payload dynamics of the system, the point at the base representing the payload and the curve representing the path of the UAV
  • Figure 4: Payload Dynamics Comparison: Calculated vs. Actual vs. Sensor Noise. The Grey zone indicates the configuration with the best compromise between payload dynamics and sensor noise.
  • Figure 5: Fixed-wing VTOL UAV with towed bird style magnetometer, in this case, a Geometrics MagArrow (Left) and fixed-wing manned aircraft (Piper Navajo) with rear mounted stinger magnetometer (right). willems2009
  • ...and 3 more figures