A toolchain for automated acquisition and processing of as-built data with autonomous UAVs

Abstract

BIM-driven projects depend on structured as-built information with high availability, but the acquisition process for visual data involves too much manual labour. Apart from acquisition, the generation of data with laser scanners and other methods requires computationally intensive registration processes. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have gained attention for all applications that involve re-mote sensing, but still require piloting personnel. UAVs with newly developed reactive autonomy, guided by stereo cameras in addition to standard GPS, enable both auto-mated operation and, more importantly, the generation of structured data that is aligned with the model. This work proposes a toolchain for producing structured point clouds of construction elements in progress.