UAV-assisted System for Aerial Ice Thickness Profiling
Supervisor : Abdullah Kadri
Team size: Minimum 4, Maximum 4
| CSE | SE | Comm | Biomed | EE | Aero | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Description
Ice thickness profiling is critically important for skiing, especially on frozen lakes and rivers. For safe individual skiing on ice, the city of Ottawa recommend a minimum thickness of 15 cm (6 inches) of clear, solid ice. This guideline changes in the case of hockey games or group skating. Currently, there are two methods used for measuring the ice thickness, an auger and a hot wire ice thickness gauge. Both of these methods come with some limitations in terms of applicability and accuracy. In this project, a novel UAV-assisted system is proposed and developed for aerial ice thickness profiling. This system is capable of performing the profiling without the need for physical drilling. The goal is to collect localized data over areas like the Rideau Canal to help answer practical questions like whether it is safe to skate, which sections require additional flooding, or if conditions are suitable for skating on local ponds. This approach offers a non-invasive, efficient alternative to traditional ice thickness measurements and focuses on improving safety and decision-making in winter activities, like skating on the canal.
Prerequisites:
Students must have the following expertise and knowledge: 1) UAVs: operations and structure, 2) remote sensing, 3) sensor interfacing and integration, such as LiDAR, 4) data processing and analysis, and 5) programming and scripting and scientific visualization. Additional expertise in data streaming and ML is a plus.
Keywords:
UAV, Remote Sensing, LiDAR, Data Acquisition and Processing, Mapping and Visualizing.