Crisscross boustrophedonic flight patterns for UAV scanning and imaging
An unmanned autonomous vehicle assessment and reporting system may implement a crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern for capturing images of a structure to develop a three-dimensional model of the same. Patch scan analysis of predefined sample sizes of the roof may be captured in a separate scan and/or as part of the crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern. The crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern may include integrated oblique image captures via structure-facing camera angles during approach portions of each pass of a boustrophedonic flight pattern, via structure-facing end passes, and/or via rounded structure-facing end passes. A crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern may include two or more boustrophedonic flight patterns that are at angles relative to one another.
1. An unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) assessment system for scanning at least a portion of a structure, comprising:
at least one sensor to capture scan data of at least a portion of a structure at multiple locations during an implemented flight pattern; and
a flight pattern control system to cause the UAV to navigate a crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern relative to the structure during which the at least one sensor is used to capture the scan data, the crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising at least:
a first boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a first set of passes over the structure at a first orientation to enable model rendering of at least the portion of the structure,
a second boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a second set of passes over the structure at a second orientation, wherein the first orientation of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern are at an angle relative to the second orientation of the second set of passes of the second boustrophedonic flight pattern to enable enhanced model rendering of at least the portion of the structure, and
wherein altitudes of the first and second boustrophedonic flight patterns are selected to capture scan data with functionally equivalent resolution for each location relative to the structure at a fixed field of view.
2. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of each pass of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern is parallel to a portion of each other pass of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern.
3. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of each pass of the second set of passes of the second boustrophedonic flight pattern is parallel to a portion of each other pass of the second set of passes of the second boustrophedonic flight pattern.
4. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein the first orientation of first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern is at a substantially 90-degree angle relative to the second orientation of the second set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern.
5. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein the first orientation of first set of passes is defined as a direction shared by at least a portion of each of a majority of the first set of passes, and wherein the second orientation of second set of passes is defined as a direction shared by at least a portion of a majority of the second set of passes.
6. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein each pass of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern is connected to a neighboring pass via a rounded pass-offset portion.
7. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein each pass of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern is connected to a neighboring pass via a squared pass-offset portion.
8. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein each pass of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern is connected to a neighboring pass via an angled pass-offset portion.
9. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the passes of each of the first and second sets of passes include a beginning portion and an end portion, the beginning portion offsetting the UAV relative to an immediately prior pass and the end portion being substantially parallel to at least a portion of the immediately prior pass.
10. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the passes of each of the first and second sets of passes include: (i) an approach portion during which the UAV is approaching the structure, (ii) a flyover portion during which the UAV is above the structure, and (iii) a departure portion during which the UAV is departing away from the structure.
11. The UAV assessment system of claim 10 , further comprising a sensing system to:
tilt the at least one sensor upward toward the structure to capture structure-facing scan data during the approach portion of each pass that includes an approach portion, and
tilt the at least one sensor downward toward the earth to capture downward-facing scan data during the flyover portion of each pass that include a flyover portion.
12. The UAV assessment system of claim 11 , wherein the sensing system is further configured to maintain the tilt of the at least one sensor downward toward the earth to capture downward-facing scan data during the departure portion of each pass that include a departure portion.
13. An unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) assessment system for scanning at least a portion of a structure, comprising:
at least one sensor to capture scan data of at least a portion of a structure at multiple locations during an implemented flight pattern;
a flight pattern control system to cause the UAV to navigate a crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern relative to the structure during which the at least one sensor is used to capture the scan data, the crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising at least:
a first boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a first set of passes over the structure at a first orientation, and
a second boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a second set of passes over the structure at a second orientation, wherein the first orientation of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern are at an angle relative to the second orientation of the second set of passes of the second boustrophedonic flight pattern; and
a sensing system to:
tilt the at least one sensor upward toward the structure to capture structure-facing scan data during the approach portion of each pass that includes an approach portion, and
tilt the at least one sensor downward toward the earth to capture downward-facing scan data during the flyover portion of each pass that includes a flyover portion,
wherein the sensing system is further configured to determine a slope of at least one face of a roof of the structure and capture at least one image of the face of the roof of the structure with axis of sensor data capture perpendicular to the face of the roof, and
wherein at least two of the passes of each of the first and second sets of passes include: (i) an approach portion during which the UAV is approaching the structure, (ii) a flyover portion during which the UAV is above the structure, and (iii) a departure portion during which the UAV is departing away from the structure.
14. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein the scan data comprises infrared images captured by an infrared light camera.
15. The UAV assessment system of claim 1 , wherein the first boustrophedonic flight pattern comprises an initial rounded end pass, a plurality of middle passes, and a final rounded end pass,
wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of middle passes are parallel to one another in the first orientation, and
wherein each of the initial and final rounded end passes are curved outward relative to the portions of the plurality of middle passes that are parallel to one another.
16. The UAV assessment system of claim 15 , further comprising an imaging system to adjust at least one sensor of the UAV to capture a plurality of structure-facing images as the UAV navigates each of the initial and final rounded end passes.
17. The UAV assessment system of claim 16 , wherein imaging system adjusts the at least one sensor of the UAV to capture the plurality of structure-facing images by rotating the camera of the UAV to face the structure, by rotating the body of the UAV, as the UAV navigates each of the initial and final rounded end passes.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause an unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) assessment system to image a structure for three-dimensional model generation, via operations comprising:
transmitting flight instructions to a UAV to cause the UAV to navigate a crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern relative to a structure, comprising:
a first boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a first set of passes over the structure at a first orientation, and
a second boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a second set of passes over the structure at a second orientation, wherein the first orientation of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern are at an angle relative to the second orientation of the second set of passes of the second boustrophedonic flight pattern; and
adjusting a tilt angle of a camera of the UAV upward toward the structure to capture at least one structure-facing image of the structure during an approach portion of at least one pass of the crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern, and
adjusting the tilt angle of the camera downward toward the earth to capture at least on e downward-facing image of the structure as the UAV passes over the structure during at least one pass of the crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern, and
wherein altitudes of the first and second boustrophedonic flight patterns are selected to capture scan data at a fixed field of view with functionally equivalent resolution for corresponding locations relative to the structure.
19. An unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) assessment system for imaging a structure for three-dimensional model generation, comprising:
at least one tilt-adjustable camera to capture images of a structure with a fixed field of view at multiple locations and at multiple angles during an implemented flight pattern;
a flight pattern control system to cause the UAV to navigate a crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern relative to the structure, comprising:
a first boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a first set of passes over the structure at a first orientation and first altitude, and
a second boustrophedonic flight pattern comprising a second set of passes over the structure at a second orientation at the first altitude, wherein the first orientation of the first set of passes of the first boustrophedonic flight pattern are at an angle relative to the second orientation of the second set of passes of the second boustrophedonic flight pattern; and
an imaging system to:
adjust a tilt angle of the camera upward toward the structure to capture at least one structure-facing image of the structure during an approach portion of at least one pass of the crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern, and
adjust the title angle of the camera downward toward the earth to capture at least one downward-facing image of the structure as the UAV passes over the structure during at least one pass of the crisscross boustrophedonic flight pattern.
20. The UAV assessment system of claim 19 , further comprising:
a processing system to generate a three-dimensional mode of the structure using the captured structure-facing image of the structure and the captured downward-facing image of the structure.