CEAS EuroGNC 2024
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Highly Automated BVLOS Drone Operations: A Large-Scale Flight Campaign supporting Agricultural Monitoring in Saxony, Germany
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| Johanna Holsten |
CEO, flyXdrive GmbH, 52074, Aachen, Germany. | | Dagmar Huth |
International Project Management, GAF AG, 80634, München, Germany. | | Tobias Islam |
Research Associate, RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Flight System Dynamics, 52062, Aachen, Germany. | | Norbert Siepenkötter |
Research Associate, RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Flight System Dynamics, 52062, Aachen, Germany. | | Dieter Moormann |
Professor, RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Flight System Dynamics, 52062, Aachen, Germany. |
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| Abstract:
This paper details a highly automated Beyond Visual Line of Sight drone flight campaign conducted in Saxony, Germany, aimed at executing one of the largest and fastest land use mapping projects in a German federal state to date. Commissioned by the Saxon State Ministry of Energy, Climate, Environment, and Agriculture, the campaign involved photographing several thousand agricultural areas across Saxony. To accomplish this, up to four tilt-wing aircraft were operated in parallel. The project uniquely combined drone-captured images with satellite data which are analyzed using artificial intelligence. With just two days of preparation for flight planning, 24,000 images were generated within one month of operation. The images covered approximately 10,300 km2 and facilitated the automatic monitoring of agricultural areas under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. Due to the short notice of the numerous flight missions, it was not possible to approve a specific route for each survey mission. Therefore, for the first time in Germany, aviation authorities issued an area-wide permit covering almost the entire state of Saxony. This paper provides detailed information on the necessary preparation and organization, along with comprehensive statistics of the flight operation. This includes operational constraints, total distance flown, total flight time, and other relevant data, underscoring the operation's efficiency and scope.
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| Keywords: Agricultural Surveying; AMS; BVLOS; CAP; CEAS EuroGNC; Monitoring; UAS |
 View PDF CEAS-GNC-2024-073 |
| Johanna Holsten, Dagmar Huth, Tobias Islam, Norbert Siepenkötter, Dieter Moormann: Highly Automated BVLOS Drone Operations: A Large-Scale Flight Campaign supporting Agricultural Monitoring in Saxony, Germany. Proceedings of the 2024 CEAS EuroGNC conference. Bristol, UK. June 2024. CEAS-GNC-2024-073.
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| BibTeX entry:
@Incollection{CEAS-GNC-2024-073,
author = {Holsten, Johanna and Huth, Dagmar and Islam, Tobias and Siepenk\"otter, Norbert and Moormann, Dieter},
title = {Highly Automated BVLOS Drone Operations: A Large-Scale Flight Campaign supporting Agricultural Monitoring in Saxony, Germany},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2024 {CEAS EuroGNC} conference},
address = {Bristol, UK},
month = jun,
year = {2024},
note = {CEAS-GNC-2024-073}
}
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