UAV Object Detection and Positioning in a Mining Industrial Metaverse with Custom Geo-Referenced Data
Vasiliki Balaska, Ioannis Tsampikos Papapetros, Katerina Maria Oikonomou, Loukas Bampis, and Antonios Gasteratos

TL;DR
This paper introduces an integrated UAV-based system combining LiDAR and deep learning for accurate, geo-referenced object detection and positioning in open-pit mining environments, enhancing digital twin integration and operational safety.
Contribution
It presents a novel, scalable system architecture that integrates UAV sensing, 3D modeling, and AI for precise spatial data collection in mining, advancing beyond traditional methods.
Findings
Demonstrated high-accuracy object detection in mining environments
Achieved scalable, automated spatial data collection
Supported integration into digital twin platforms
Abstract
The mining sector increasingly adopts digital tools to improve operational efficiency, safety, and data-driven decision-making. One of the key challenges remains the reliable acquisition of high-resolution, geo-referenced spatial information to support core activities such as extraction planning and on-site monitoring. This work presents an integrated system architecture that combines UAV-based sensing, LiDAR terrain modeling, and deep learning-based object detection to generate spatially accurate information for open-pit mining environments. The proposed pipeline includes geo-referencing, 3D reconstruction, and object localization, enabling structured spatial outputs to be integrated into an industrial digital twin platform. Unlike traditional static surveying methods, the system offers higher coverage and automation potential, with modular components suitable for deployment in…
Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsAdvanced Neural Network Applications · Robotics and Sensor-Based Localization · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction
