The objective of this project is to develop an autonomous drone, without a pilot, allowing the geolocation of animals on an agricultural area. This means developing an autonomous, intelligent system, which requires no knowledge of modelling or piloting on the part of the farmer. The drone is a "start and go" type, which is self-driving and manages the movements of the camera itself. This will allow the farmer to work alone and remove the animals while the drone works. A thermal camera providing temperature and size parameters will allow image processing algorithms to automate animal geolocation. An on-board high-performance computer will transmit real-time movements to the drone and camera. The drone will therefore not have a pre-defined flight plan or ground pilots. On the contrary, its flight will adapt intelligently according to the data collected by the camera. Also, Swisstopo data will be used to manage the above-ground altitude of the drone.
Project partner(s)
Project leader - team
Claude Fischer
(HEPIA),
Cédric Bilat
(HE-ARC)