Test flight
over Peru ruins could revolutionize archaeological mapping
Archaeological
sites that currently take years to map will be completed in minutes if tests
underway in Peru of a new system being developed at Vanderbilt University go
well.
The Skate
by Aurora Flight Sciences unmanned aerial vehicle will be integrated into a
larger system that combines the flying device that can fit into a backpack with
a software system that can discern an optimal flight pattern and transform the
resulting data into three-dimensional maps. The project is an interdisciplinary
collaboration between Vanderbilt archaeologist Steven Wernke and engineering
professor Julie A. Adams.
They call
it SUAVe – for Semi-autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. It was partially
financed by an Interdisciplinary Discovery Grant from Vanderbilt.
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