Title: Review and case studies of UAV photogrammetry for manufacturing applications

Authors: Yang Chen; Rajan Jagpal; Evripides G. Loukaides

Addresses: Materials and Structures Research Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK ' Materials and Structures Research Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; Advanced Design and Manufacturing Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK ' Materials and Structures Research Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; Advanced Design and Manufacturing Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

Abstract: Recent advancements in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) equipped with high-quality cameras bring new opportunities in quantitative photogrammetric measurement in a variety of industrial sectors. This paper aims to provide an assessment of the applicability of UAV photogrammetry within the manufacturing environment. A short review of some state-of-the-art applications is followed by case studies that focus on forming processes for composite materials. These materials present challenges due to their high reflectivity and lack of distinguishing surface features. Several open software are used to capture and analyse point clouds, which demonstrate that UAV photogrammetry is able to offer quantitative inspections of composite products to sub-millimetre precision.

Keywords: photogrammetry; quantitative geometric inspection; composite product; unmanned aerial vehicles; unmanned autonomous vehicles; non-crimp fabrics; flexible manufacturing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMS.2023.133389

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, 2023 Vol.16 No.2/3, pp.155 - 170

Received: 19 Oct 2022
Accepted: 23 Jan 2023
Published online: 14 Sep 2023 *

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