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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Coastal and inshore navigational areas are becoming increasingly congested not only due to the vessels traffic, but also from the more recent economic activities such as offshore wind farms, tidal turbines and aquaculture sites. At the same time the challenges presented by coastal development like “light pollution” or operational requirements of larger vessels or high-speed crafts are imposing more complex design solutions for the Aids to Navigation (AtoN). On the other side, users are calling for higher effectiveness of the service being provided, namely through clear statements of the level of service and performance standard. Over the last decade we have witnessed a large diversity of UAV application solution in several domains. The associated technology is becoming cheaper, easily achievable and with higher levels of performance. This paper presents the results of several tests to validate the conceptual use of UAVs
in the performance assessment of AtoN. Results point to the possibility for the definition of more detailed performance indicators of AtoN. UAVs fitted with optical sensors may simulate the perception of observers at several heights and directions. Above all, they provide a systematic methodology to assess or monitor the conspicuity of AtoN at pre-set positions or paths.
Description
Keywords
Unmanned Air Vehicles, AtoN