UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS: A NEW APPROACH TO REMOTE SENSING QUANTUM SPATIAL PRODUCES DERIVED ANALYTICS USING THE

LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND MOST ADVANCED APPROACH.

CUSTOM SENSOR FABRICATION COMBINED WITH PARTNER

UAS PLATFORMS, POSITION QSI AS THE INDUSTRY LEADER IN

UAS-ENABLED REMOTE SURVEY AND INSPECTION. OUR UAS SOLUTIONS

PROVIDE COST SAVINGS, DATA PRODUCTS NEW TO THE INDUSTRY, AND

ARE A REALITY TODAY.

During the 2000s, Quantum Spatial, Inc. (QSI) pioneered the collection

of high-density LiDAR point clouds in the rugged terrain of the Pacific

Northwest, capturing millions of acres of national forest and private

land to produce extremely precise ground models. Today QSI adjusts

its approach to fit the requirements of the survey mission. Area size and

location, required data products, accuracies, resolutions, and other factors

are all taken into account to deploy a UAS or drone. QSI is pleased to

offer drone-based data capture solutions for site-specific applications and

corridors alike. In continuation of our vast fleet of traditional survey air-

craft and sensors, we view the use of UAS for remote sensing as a natural

progression for remote inspection in which high resolution data is collected

with a drone.

QSI has designed an array of advanced sensors for inspections and surveys of locations and

infrastructure in challenging locations. Data collection can range from real-time inspections

to high-sensitivity spectral detection with fine-scale spatial mapping. With access to multiple

UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) platforms, each custom sensor package is mounted to a drone

appropriate for the mission at hand. Precise positioning is accounted for with GPS corrections

from the IMU and Ultra-Wideband radio provides even finer accuracy. The imagery and other data

collected with a UAS provides the information necessary to detect small-scale damage and signs of

degradation, or larger scale physical or structural changes. The information collected by a UAS can

be delivered immediately on-site; and with a degree of added time, QSI can take the data further to

bring valuable analytic insight and business intelligence to your desktop in the office.

UAS ADVANTAGES

• Safety

• Fresh, innovative data products

• Cost savings

• Data is actionable sooner

• Unsurpassed resolution

• New insights from new perspectives

ADVANCED INSPECTION SUITE

Robust datasets acquired from a UAS perspective allow

remote users to see complete digital coverage of sites and

assets. The choice of drone platform depends on the survey

area and project requirements. Drones are chosen based

on area size and location, optimal flight time, and payload

(sensors to be deployed). Multispectral visible imagery

and LiDAR sensors can be mounted on the smallest UAVs.

Hyperspectral systems typically require a more robust and

powerful platform.

A UAS results in more precise and focused data collection

than high altitude fixed-wing acquisition. Data is collected

in proximity and at different angles for imagery and to min-

imize beam-shadow effects in point clouds.

Flōt Systems Prophex 50 Multirotor

Freefly Alta

Multirotor

DJI

Matrice 600

Quadcopter

PrecisionHawk

Lancaster 5

Fixed Wing

DJI

Matrice 100

Quadcopter

Inspire

Quadcopter

Phantom

Quadcopter

Flight Time

Payload Capacity

5D Robotics

Heavy Lifter

Multirotor

Flōt Systems

Arc 65

Fixed Wing

20

lbs

5 lb

s6

0 lb

s4

0 lb

s

30 min 8 hrs

Above: Using thermal information, QSI can detect liquid levels in covered basins or detect system leaks that may not be noticeable to the naked eye at time of inspection. Right: Multispectral imagery (7-bands) can be refined to highlight unseen aspects. Right, Below: Electric conductors were captured in this LiDAR point cloud collected with a UAS.

CUSTOM SENSORS AND DATA SOLUTIONS

Above: Visible imagery collected with a drone in a near-field inspection can identify potential threats: cracks, corrosion (rust), and physical attributes of note.

• Raw Visible Imagery

A camera can collect continuous video,

static or spherical imagery at 1Hz.

This technology is good for real-time

inspection of hard-to-reach places

like utility poles tops, or roofs. Base

imagery of a site can be collected for

a record, and imagery can be further

reviewed using automated processes

for detection of changed features.

- Utility Assets (Electric tower

inspection, Water Districts)

- Private Assets (Oil and Gas, Roof

Inspections for insurance)

- Construction and Infrastructure

(Bridges, roads, large heavy

equipment i.e. cranes)

• Thermal Imagery Thermal data collection can produce informative

data with minimal processing. Imagery collected with

the thermal imager can detect hotspots, identify

thermal anomalies and measure operating tempera-

tures day or night. Final imagery can be time- or

temperature-stamped. A long-wave multispectral

thermal sensor can capture methane absorption fea-

tures and vibrational features of many rock-forming

minerals to determine atmospheric gas optical

opacity, bulk mineralogy and surface temperature.

The instrument design includes spectral dispersion

which allows for fine-tuning spectral sampling to

the ideal bandwidths for both hydrocarbon gas and

geologic analysis. Applications of thermal imaging

include: Solar farm utilities, Water districts, Search

and rescue, Disaster relief, Cell antenna inspections,

and Emergency response.

• 3D Point Clouds - QSI utilizes a small and dynamic

LiDAR sensor for custom-fabrications for UAS. QSI

utilizes the Velodyne VLP-16 with IMU and GPS units

for creating detailed and dense point clouds. Beam

shadowing and point density issues melt away when

a drone is the collection platform, making this sensor

perfect for detailed as-built engineering surveys.

• Multispectral and Hyperspectral Imagery QSI’s multispectral sensors can collect more than 100

distinct bands of data mid-wave infrared spectral

window. Hyperspectral data is a dense collection of

reflectance bands contained in a “data cube” and can

be viewed as a true-color image, any combination of

spectral bands, or as distinct spectra for individual

pixels representing specific spectral signatures. Data

collected can identify differentiable features from

atmospheric water, geologic and biologic surface

features that complicate observations. Multispectral

information can be used to derive tree species or to

identify the presence of rust or corrosion.

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• Data is leverageable across business units throughout

Electric Utilities, Oil & Gas, and Construction applications

• Imagery: RGB (visible spectrum), Multi & Hyperspectral, Thermal, and Video

• High-Accuracy 3D Point Cloud Data

• Substation Model

• Vegetation Mapping

• Near-Field Inspection

• Asset Inspection

• Change Detection

• Volumetric Measurements

• 3D Asset Model

• Greenfield Survey

• Facilities Model

• Terrain Hazard Analysis

• Drill Site Inspection

• Vegetation Mapping

• Near-Field Inspection

• Change Detection

• Volumetric Measurements

• 3D Site Model

• Greenfield Survey

• Brownfield Survey

• Hazardous Site Survey

• Pipeline Integrity Analysis

• Tank Interior Inspection

• Facilities Modeling & Analytics

• Vegetation Mapping

• Near-Field Inspection

• Change Detection

• Volumetric Measurements

• 3D Site Model

• Greenfield Survey

• Brownfield Survey

• Hazardous Site Survey

• Vegetation Management

• Equipment Siting

• Annotated Video

• Real-time Inspection

• Change Difference Reporting

• Asset Inventory

• Fuel Leak Detection

• Pipeline Siting

• Annotated Video

• Real-Time Inspection

• Change Difference Reporting

• Vegetation Management

• Terrain Hazard Quantification

• Materials Inventory

• Project Progress Monitoring

• Change Detection Reporting

• Real Time Inspection

• Annotated Video

• Construction Siting

• Emergency Response

• Vegetation Prescriptions

• Vegetation Mitigation and

Prioritization

• Attachment/ Joint Use Audit

• Substation Planning

• New Equipment Placement

• Facilities Planning

• Emergency Response

• Vegetation Prescriptions

• Vegetation Mitigation and

Prioritization

• Fuel Leak Response Routing

• Materials Planning

• Construction Planning

• Emergency Response

• Cut/ Fill Volumetric Planning

• Project Completion Forecasting

Electric Utilities

Oil & Gas

Construction

Industry Applications of UAS Remote Sensing Surveys and Analysis