// Legacy waste
In order to map the Casey station and its surrounds,
the AAD trialled a fixed-wing UAV. (Aerial shot of
Casey station, credit: Australian Antarctic Division)
Managing Thala Valley’s waste. (Waste
management from Thala Valley, credit:
Scott Stark/Australian Antarctic Division)
secondary goal was to provide accurate
aerial mapping of Casey station.
Australian UAV director James Rennie
told Inside Waste the company used
its DJI Inspire multi-rotor to navigate
across the sea ice.
“To assist with navigation, our
requirements were to fly above the ship
while providing a live vision feed to
the bridge to enable the ship’s master
to see ‘leads’ in the sea ice. These
cracks and weak points help expedite
the ship’s progress and reduce the risk
of it becoming trapped,” Rennie said.
In order to map the Casey station
and its surrounds, the AAD trialled a
fixed-wing UAV and despite the risk
of sub-zero conditions impacting the
equipment, Australian UAV launched
its senseFly eBee aircraft, used to map
historical sites in the region.
“At least on this occasion, despite
the risks, the methods for flying the
eBee in Antarctica proved to be no
more complex than on the Australian
mainland, which is a testament to this
very capable platform,” Rennie said.
“Our team demonstrated with great
success that multi-rotor drones can be
of assistance to ships navigating sea
ice in very challenging conditions,
and also that fixed-wing aerial
mapping has many potential positive
applications in Antarctica.”
“UAVs have the potential to assist
in cost-effective aerial remote sensing
and mapping of sites,” Tracey added.
With its modernisation initiatives,
the AAD is confident that it will have
a much larger capacity to address
legacy waste challenges over the next
iw
two decades.
Flying back home
In Australia, Cleanaway has been using UAVs since
December 2015 and this technology has since been rolled
out across all of its landfills.
Rennie said the Cleanaway had approached the company
seeking monthly and fortnightly surveys of the active cells in
their landfill sites to calculate the fill received and airspace
remaining. As part of their partnership, Australian UAV also
undertakes six monthly surveys for the company’s closed
landfills. The data collected is then used for site planning and
monitoring the volume of waste received.
According to Rennie, Cleanaway currently uses four
Sensefly eBee, including the eBee RTK, a survey-grade
UAV that retails for about $60,000 and can cover up to 50
hectares in a 25 minute flight.
“We are able to process and create 3D models for airspace
analysis in landfill sites. Each pixel represents a 3D point
so we get more than 800 points per square metre,”
Rennie explained.
“By undertaking surveys on a monthly basis, there is a
greater record of data, which can be used to accurately
model, track and project the operational life of a landfill,”
the spokesperson added.
Given the use of UAVs is not commonplace in the waste
sector... yet, Cleanaway said one of the challenges was
educating and up skilling its team. Additionally, sites may
have to install additional control points, which are vital for
the operation.
“We are unable to survey the ground surface in areas which
are heavily vegetated [and] we are unable to fly drones in
extreme wind conditions,” the spokesperson said.
But despite the challenges, Cleanaway said the use of
UAVs has resulted in “significant cost savings” over large
area sites, compared to previous methods of collection
and analysis.
“This depth of data more than makes up for the accuracy
difference between a traditional survey and UAV data. The
eBee RTK has real-time corrections on the GPS giving very
high accuracy data without the need for much ground control.
“Using our 3D elevation data it is quick and easy to run
airspace calculations or stockpile volume analysis. This
can either be done by your GIS team, external consultants,
or yourself with our online software portal in a completely
automated manner.”
A Cleanaway spokesperson told Inside Waste the company
previously used ground surveys (at 10m grid) or aeroplane
surveys to collect and analyse data.
“UAV technology is quick to capture data from large
areas and provides more accuracy of surface level,” the
spokesperson said.
“Key benefits include quick turnaround for survey data over
large areas, accuracy of +/- 50mm vertical and horizontal
tolerance, and due to the efficiency in the technology, the
surveys can be performed more frequently. This provides
better understanding how we are utilising our assets and
identify areas that may need improvement or could be
better optimised.
Weekly news updates at www.BEN-global.com/waste
Australian UAV can process
and create 3D models for
airspace analysis in landfill
sites. (Credit: Australian UAV)
iw
AUGUST 2016 INSIDEWASTE
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