Inertial Navigation Systems for Road Surveys

By Mike Ball / 19 May 2021
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Road survey with LiDAR and INS

OxTS has released an article explaining why inertial navigation systems (INS) are a critical part of high-precision road surveying. INS provide measurements such as heading, pitch/roll, timing and absolute position that are essential for accurate measuring of the survey environment.

Read the full article on OxTS’ website

The article covers:

  • The unique requirements and challenges of surveys for existing roads versus those for new construction projects
  • The advantages of pairing an INS with a LiDAR scanner
  • How advances in UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) technology have made aerial long baseline surveys more viable
  • What makes OxTS’ lightweight xNAV650 INS ideal for drone-based survey and mapping applications
  • Software for easy georeferencing of LiDAR data as well as boresight calibration
  • How a manufacturer of hydrogen-powered drones successfully used the xNAV650 to conduct a road survey

INS are also crucial tools for a variety of other drone survey and mapping applications, such as building information modelling (BIM), forestry survey, coastal monitoring and infrastructure. With a 0.1° heading accuracy, 0.05° pitch/roll accuracy and 2 cm RTK/PPK position accuracy, OxTS’ lightweight xNAV650 INS can facilitate all of these and more. To find out more, read the full article on OxTS’ website.

Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact