Applications and Development of Intelligent UAVs for the Resource Industries

Drones have become an integral part of the digital transformation currently sweeping the mining industry; particularly in surface operations, where they allow operators to model the terrain quickly and effortlessly with GPS localization and advanced mission planning software. Recently, the usage of drones has expanded to underground mines, with advancements in drone autonomy in GPS-denied environments. Developments in lidar technology and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms are enabling UAVs to function safely underground where they can be used to map workings and digitally reconstruct them into 3D point clouds for a wide variety of applications. Underground mines can be expansive with inaccessible and dangerous areas preventing safe access for traditional inspections, mapping and monitoring. In addition, abandoned mines and historic mines being reopened may lack reliable maps of sufficient detail. The underground mine environment presents a multitude of unique challenges that must be addressed for reliable drone flights. This work covers the development of drones for GPS-denied underground mines, in addition to several case studies where drone-based lidar and photogrammetry were used to capture 3D point clouds of underground mines, and the associated applications of mine digitization, such as geotechnical analysis and pillar strength analysis. This research also features an applied use case of custom drones built to detect methane leaks at natural gas production and distribution sites.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mining Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Mining Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Bishop, Richard Edwin

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Ripepi, Nino S.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Karmis, Michael E.
• Luxbacher, Kramer Davis
• Chen, Cheng

• UAV
• UAS
• drone
• GPS-denied
• BVLOS
• lidar
• photogrammetry
• remote sensing
• underground mining
• methane emissions
• leak detection
• drone-based surveys
• mine digitization
• point cloud
• reality capture
• mining engineering

Statement dc:rights

• Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:34320

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/109724