Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

It is difficult that an operator controls an unmanned helicopter to destination (Masanao K., 2003); especially it is far between an operator and helicopter. Because an unmanned helicopter is maneuvered by a radio control system on the ground. The objective of this study is to improve efficiency and accuracy based in pan-head control of remote sensing using an unmanned helicopter. For the unmanned helicopter used in this research, an RTK-GPS was adopted as a positioning sensor, and an inertial sensor that provides posture (roll and pitch angles) was installed in the helicopter. Moreover, a geomagnetic direction sensor (GDS) that outputs and absolute direction is also equipped with the helicopter. And the helicopter was installed the pan-head to mount an imaging sensor under the fuselage. That pan-head can rotate two directions (pan and tilt) and equipped rotary encoders to measure the angles. The method for improving remote sensing efficiently is to calculate pan and tilt angles from helicopter position, posture, and target position and to control the pan-head. Accuracy of the system was confirmed by a computer simulation. The software also has been developed to support operators and displays helicopter position and posture by 3D graphics. In order to develop the system, we analyzed the pan-head transient and steady-state response and built a dynamic model of the pan-head and get a real helicopter flight data. As the result, RMS error is 27.8cm and maximum error is 2.69m. This accuracy is sufficient for image capturing of the target point.