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Real World BVLOS Corridor Mapping in Germany


Exciting things are happening in the air above the Autobahn in Germany, where construction giant, Strabag utilized a Microdrones mdMapper1000DG for corridor mapping, Beyond Visual Line of Site (BVLOS). Microdrones was able to meet the German requirements for conducting BVLOS in uncontrolled air space. 

In Germany BVLOS is possible thanks to a unique relationship between Deutsche Telekom and German Air Traffic Control. Drones are able to connect to the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM,) that can locate, monitor and track drones connected over the Deutsche Telekom mobile network (LTE). This allows for safe flight BVLOS operations. 

We’re pleased to present a series of videos that highlight the BVLOS real world flights in Germany, showcasing the Microdrones main workflow elements: Plan, Fly, Process, Visualize.

PLAN

Halle, Germany, is where Microdrones worked with Strabag to fly the mdMapper1000DG, equipped with special transponders to make it visible to German Air Traffic Control. Above Highway A33, the mdMapper1000DG was tasked with creating a point cloud and orthophoto of a 12 kilometer stretch of the Autobahn. The video above demonstrates the team putting the PLAN together to gather the necessary data to create the point cloud.

Leading construction companies like Strabag recognize that BVLOS drone flight is very advantageous for corridor mapping. It allows for longer flights that cover more area while capturing larger quantities of data. In Germany, while flying over the Autobahn 33, the Microdrones mdMapper1000DG was equipped with an LTE modem and a FLARM Collision Avoidance module to assist with BVLOS flight. You can watch the action in the FLY video below.

FLY

Using the mdMapper1000DG for corridor mapping of the Autobahn allows for closer inspection and visualization of the highway to find pavement imperfections, road wear and tear, and other potential safety hazards.

Once all the data is collected from the drone, it can be imported into popular software to create highly accurate visualizations such as orthomosaics or pointclouds, as shown in the video. The third video in this series demonstrates the final stages of the Microdrones workflow.

PROCESS and VISUALIZE

Are you interested in making drones a part of your corridor mapping projects? Our friendly, helpful experts are eager to speak with you about your needs! Click here to request a meeting.