Autonomous 3D Reconstruction Using a MAV

TL;DR

This paper presents an autonomous system using a MAV equipped with a camera and IMU to perform high-resolution 3D reconstruction of objects without prior environment knowledge, demonstrated in precision agriculture.

Contribution

It introduces a novel autonomous 3D reconstruction system leveraging only MAV sensors, enabling dense modeling without prior environment data.

Findings

Successful dense 3D reconstructions achieved autonomously

System operates with only MAV's onboard sensors

Applicable to precision agriculture scenarios

Abstract

An approach is proposed for high resolution 3D reconstruction of an object using a Micro Air Vehicle (MAV). A system is described which autonomously captures images and performs a dense 3D reconstruction via structure from motion with no prior knowledge of the environment. Only the MAVs own sensors, the front facing camera and the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) are utilized. Precision agriculture is considered as an example application for the system.