Investigation of the effect of integrated unmanned aerial vehicles flight stabilization and control on the accuracy of remote measurements of the angle of inclination of the supports using the laser scanning rangefinders unit

This article examines the impact of the directional stability of an unmanned aerial vehicles based measuring system on the tilt angle measurements of reinforced concrete supports in power supply systems. A comprehensive solution is proposed, based on the integration of disparate sensors into a single multisensor platform, including 5-axis micro-electromechanical systems accelerometers and gyroscopes, or at least 3-axis ones, a modified system of laser scanning rangefinders used simultaneously as altimeters, satellite navigation system sensors (GPS/GLONASS), airflow sensors, barometric sensors, magnetometers, and a machine vision system. The role of the inertial measurement unit and the “Heads-upright” device as the basis for constructing an inertial navigation system is emphasized. Examples of calculating relative errors of unmanned aerial vehicles heading deviations in the horizontal and vertical planes when determining the angle of support deviation are provided. An analysis of the proposed system's impact on the metrological characteristics of the measuring system is conducted, particularly when using laser scanning rangefinder with a frequency of 10 kHz and an error of up to 1 mm. Using the proposed technical means allows eliminating these errors when monitoring the geometric position of reinforced concrete structures and supports of railway overhead contact lines.