Towards the Development of a Smart Flying Sensor: Illustration in the Field of Precision Agriculture.

UAV; precision agriculture; remote sensor; Design and implementations; Inertial measurement unit; Path following control; Position estimation; Remote sensors; Scale system; Time delay compensation; Analytical Chemistry; Biochemistry; Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics; Instrumentation; Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Abstract :

[en] Sensing is an important element to quantify productivity, product quality and to make decisions. Applications, such as mapping, surveillance, exploration and precision agriculture, require a reliable platform for remote sensing. This paper presents the first steps towards the development of a smart flying sensor based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The concept of smart remote sensing is illustrated and its performance tested for the task of mapping the volume of grain inside a trailer during forage harvesting. Novelty lies in: (1) the development of a position-estimation method with time delay compensation based on inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors and image processing; (2) a method to build a 3D map using information obtained from a regular camera; and (3) the design and implementation of a path-following control algorithm using model predictive control (MPC). Experimental results on a lab-scale system validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Disciplines :

Aerospace & aeronautics engineering

Author, co-author :

Hernandez Naranjo, Jairo Andres ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Aérospatiale et Mécanique (A&M)

Murcia, Harold; Department of Electrical Energy, Systems and Automation (EeSA), Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. harold.murcia@unibague.edu.co

Copot, Cosmin; Department of Electrical Energy, Systems and Automation (EeSA), Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. cosmin.copot@ugent.be

De Keyser, Robin; Department of Electrical Energy, Systems and Automation (EeSA), Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Robain.DeKeyser@ugent.be

Language :

English

Title :

Towards the Development of a Smart Flying Sensor: Illustration in the Field of Precision Agriculture.

Publication date :

10 July 2015

Journal title :

Sensors

ISSN :

1424-8220

eISSN :

1424-3210

Publisher :

MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

16688 - 16709

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/15/7/16688/pdf

Available on ORBi :

since 03 October 2025

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