AERIAL MAGNETIC SENSING WITH AN UAV HELICOPTER

Abstract. This paper concentrates on aerial magnetic sensing with an autonomous Scout B1-100 UAV helicopter. A high-resolution 3-axis mag- netic sensor has been mounted on the helicopter in order to generate a detailed magnetic map and to identify various ferrous objects in the soil. The development is based on advanced mission planning for the UAV as well as test flights under challenging weather conditions such as wind gusts and snow fall. Finally, this paper summarizes a real-world application after the collapse of a daylight coal mining where various persons have been killed and multiple infrastructure objects have been buried. The task of magnetic scanning was applied in order to find buried vehicles where miners have been expected based on eyewitnesses during the collapse. However, while several ferrous objects have been located, the van could not be identified in the extensive area of the landslide.