Hovering Solutions Ltd. has developed a drone (UAV) system aimed to inspect and produce 3D maps of tunnels and other indoor scenarios
The underground inspection aerial vehicle has been successfully tested in the heart of London, under the Canary Wharf area, in one of the tunnels buried under the mega construction project Crossrail.
The flying platform is equipped with lasers and other sensors to allow indoor positioning and avoid collisions with objects and tunnel walls. The computation of the on-board laser information and high definition image data is used to produce richly detailed 3D models, including high definition texture layers and survey grade georeferenced point clouds. Its main applications are:
The system provides the following significant benefits:
The outcome of the trials has been used to produce Virtual Reality scenarios, thanks to the participation of Clicks&Links in the project consortium. In addition to the high grade immersion, the system is able to provide a virtual toolkit to allow the user to accomplish a complete tunnel inspection, taking accurate measurements and making notes in a virtual environment.
