UAV-based mapping of the Porgera mine

Papua New Guinea, one of the most rural and unexplored places on the planet, challenges surveyors with its dense rainforest, swamps, steep valleys and mountains up to 4,500 meters to find new ways to create accurate measurements. To defy these difficulties, the experts are forced to search for new innovative solutions to obtain precise results and found their perfect match in the use of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

当基准调查与设计时，Porgera矿山调查团队签订了专门从事澳大利亚北部昆士兰州的地形地点测量的专家，以在高地的Porgera山谷头部的隔离地面上绘制溢出地面，高度为2,2002,700 m，他们需要找到一种新的测量方法。由于捕获的数据将用于对矿山生成的转储站点的环境监视，因此准确性至关重要。

Mapping dangerous terrain with an UAV

In an area where landslides and earthquakes are common and with only five days available to map, Benchmark Survey & Design determined a survey by air would be the safest and most efficient way to collect the needed data. As the firm needed more experience in using Leica Geosystems UAV, it turned to Spatial Technologies, an Australian firm with more than 20 years in geographic information systems (GIS), to provide an UAV pilot. Flying Leica Geosystems UAV and collecting data in various environments for the past two years, Spatial Technologies was up for the challenge.

在矿山周围捕获两个地点，Anjolek的380公顷和250公顷的Anawe，飞行员安东·范·威克（Anton Van Wyk）必须在飞行计划软件中仔细计划他的路线。面对几个挑战，例如直升机只能通过直升机才能到达陡峭和无法实现的地形，只有五天中的直升机可用的一个可用的挑战，而在早晨的极端天气和浓雾中的极端天气和下午连续降雨，将时间桶减少到时间桶中每天只有几个小时的调查。安东（Anton）的精确计划取决于Leica Geosystems无人机解决方案的耐用性和可靠性。

“ Leica Geosystems无人机提供了比Porgera矿山调查团队预期的更好的结果，即使在如此粗糙的地形中，” Benchmark Survey＆Design的Wayne Storey说。“尽管矿山调查团队有一个事先飞行的任务，但该团队没有收到无人机用更高级传感器提供的数据的专家映射和处理。”

With 32 total flights at about 10 minutes each, Spatial Technologies collected 9,100 orthophotos at a 5 cm ground sampling distance. While Benchmark Survey & Design only need sub-metre accuracy for the project, Spatial Technologies was actually able to supply 10-20 cm accuracy with strategically placed controls in conjunction with the RTK on the UAV. The entire project was processed in about 96 hours to provide visual documentation of volume changes in the spill grounds.

不仅仅是卷

Combining the orthophotos from Leica Geosystems UAV with older data and point clouds of the site created by laser scanning technology, engineers and environmentalists on the project were enabled to go beyond just volume calculations. Together with the many forms of data collected, they can now see visible proof of vegetation changes and conduct slope analyses.

随着危险地形唤起危险的条件ns for surveyors, measurements were previously being taken few and far in between. With the safer and quicker UAV survey, the mine survey team can now monitor on a more regular basis to manage issues sooner and rectify problems before they become major concerns.

Van Wyk说：“使用无人机的航空调查不仅可以比传统方法更快地完成，而且可以通过它可以携带的高级传感器进行调查，我们也可以获得同样的准确性，”“由于测量师也不必进入冒险的领域即可建立工具，因此无人机也使我们的工作更安全。”

When terrain creates obstacles on the ground, UAVs are able to overcome from above. Opening access to more and more areas, Leica Geosystems UAV solution is creating new opportunities across the globe.