Modelling Below Ground

Internal drone project: surveying & modelling a 236m long culvert

Perthshire, Scotland
South Inch Culvert

Flight Goals:

• Video inspection of culvert
• Establish sources of water ingress
• Create a 3D point cloud model using photogrammetry

Key elements of project:

• Use of an Elios 2 drone to carry out an internal survey/inspection
• Modelling linear underground structure in 3D

During a standard external (or outdoor) survey our drones gather position data from GPS or the RTK network. Within indoor environments this is not possible, so an alternative triangulation system is required. The Elios 2 drone is designed for internal inspections, eliminating the risks created by placing personnel within confined spaces, at height or in polluted environments. The Elios 2 records high resolution visual data and thermal data, transmitting this back to the operator in real time. This allows the inspection to be interrogated on site, allowing immediate further investigation of any issues as they are noticed.

The culvert inspection required flying to the maximum range of the Elios 2, recording data, and then returning to the access point. In order to do this the structure was broken down into modules, allowing time to be spent on each section. This ensured no surfaces were missed and made the best use of the battery life available.

Equipped with an onboard lighting system, the Elios 2 is able to flood the subject area with light, allowing the capture of high resolution visual data in totally dark environments. The data can then be processed into inspection video, or point cloud data for construction planning, design, or general asset visualisation.

You can view an animation sequence from the project on our LinkedIN page, which we invite you to follow to receive updates on our activity.