Integration of Terrain Image Sensing with UAV Safety Management Protocols

In recent years there has been increased interest in the development of lightweight rotor-based UAV platforms which may be deployed as single or multiple autonomous UAV systems in support of applications such as ground surveillance, search and rescue, environmental monitoring in remote areas, bridge inspection and aerial imaging of crops. With the increased complexity of the UAV platforms comes a legal requirement that any UAV operates in a safe manner and is able to land safely in the presence of control and power when flight task exception conditions are alarmed. No standards currently exist for the in-line discovery and designation of UAV Safe Landing Zones (SLZs) for rotor-based platforms and this paper describes a novel approach which has been developed as part of a wider UAV Safety Management Protocol. Aspects relating to the SLZ sensing, classification and designation are described together with the methodology for deciding on the SLZ attainability.