Will develop drone-based ground investigations

23.11.2020 16:09:25 CET | NGI

The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute's (NGI) technology spin-off EMerald Geomodelling will further develop a drone-based system for airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys and pilot this over the next three years.

NGI and EMerald Geomodelling will further develop a drone-based system for airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys and pilot this over the next three years

Over 90 per cent of infrastructure projects worldwide experience cost overruns of 20-50 per cent. The reason for this is often a lack of knowledge of the ground conditions. Together with research institutions such as NGI and the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), EMerald Geomodelling and SkyTEM will now further develop the AEM solution to obtain less expensive and improved knowledge of the ground conditions.

Eurostar's funding program contributes to the research project, which is estimated at 1.6 million Euros.

Invent and improve

Today, EMerald Geomodelling's services are based on airborne geoscanning from helicopters. Geo-scanning collects data, and using machine learning algorithms, EMerald Geomodelling can produce 3D models that give project engineers a holistic basis for infrastructure design.

The goal is to further develop this technology to provide the same information when using drones. Coordinating work processes for AEM surveys with drone flying, machine learning-based integration and a more holistic approach to other ground surveys will greatly contribute to increasing the sustainability goals in the construction industry.

- Further development of innovations is important for NGI. In addition, we want to be a support and partner for EMerald Geomodelling. In this project, we will contribute to the workflow around the surveys and optimize the communication between executives and potential customers. As part of this, we will also work with delivery formats and standardization in accordance with industry standards within building information models (BIM), says Magnus Rømoen, BIM strategist at NGI.

Available for more

Today's solution depends on data collection by flying helicopter, which provides a relatively high entry cost. This means that the solution is not particularly suitable for smaller, geographical projects. Through drone-based technology, you will not only reduce the entry cost, you will and will be able to fly closer to the ground than what is allowed by helicopter. This in turn will result in increased accuracy for the data, in addition to increasing the resolution the first few meters into the ground.

The work processes with drones and customized machine learning algorithms will bridge this gap, with a solution that provides a faster and better product at a lower cost.

- Faster, better and cheaper is typically a wish that cannot be fulfilled. But with this solution, we do just that by replacing a half-ton system that requires a helicopter with something that weighs 10-12 kilos and can be carried by a drone, says Andreas A. Pfaffhuber, CEO of EMerald Geomodelling.

He emphasizes that EMerald Geomodelling's vision is to eliminate the risk of unknown ground conditions by creating models that make the upper part of the earth's crust transparent.

- Our goal is to make this a new standard in geotechnical ground surveys, in line with traditional methods such as soundings and penetrations tests (CPTUs) and drilling and sampling for subsequent laboratory testing of retrieved soil samples. The solution will not only be able to give a 3D result of an area, you will and can get this at a relatively reasonable cost.

In addition, this will make AEM surveys available for almost any project that requires knowledge of the ground conditions. The development will also contribute to increased sustainability in the construction industry, both in terms of lower costs and reduced carbon emissions, says Pfaffhuber.

Part of the Eurostar program

Eurostar is a joint program between EUREKA and the European Commission to support projects led by small and medium-sized research and development-based companies. The program is supported by the EU through Horizon 2020. EMerald Geomodelling's contribution was ranked number 15 out of a total of 384 applicants.

Keywords

3D-modelling AEM technology AI Drone geoscanning innovation machine learning site investigation

Contacts

Magnus RømoenBIM Strategist

Tel:+47 976 56 940magnus.romoen@ngi.no

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NGI - På sikker grunn
Norges Geotekniske Institutt (NGI) er et internasjonalt ledende senter for forskning og rådgivning innen ingeniørrelaterte geofag. Vi utvikler optimale løsninger for samfunnet og tilbyr ekspertise om jord, berg og snø og deres påvirkning på miljøet, konstruksjoner og anlegg. Vi arbeider i følgende markeder: Offshore energi - Bygg, anlegg og samferdsel - Naturfare - Miljøteknologi. NGI er en privat næringsdrivende stiftelse med kontor og laboratorier i Oslo, avdelingskontor i Trondheim og datterselskap i Houston, Texas USA og Perth, Western Australia. NGI ble stiftet i 1953.

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