Didro - An Innovative Multi-Sensor UAV System for Routine and Crisis Monitoring of Dikes
Résumé
Dike management has become a major concern in France over the last 20 years after several flood disasters caused by dikes failures. The poor condition of more than 60% of the dikes in the country and the increase of flood occurrences/intensities due to global climate change obviously lead to a closer monitoring of the structures and their reinforcement. The most commonly used method for routine and crisis monitoring of dikes is based on visual inspections on the field. It allows the detection of surface indicators (i.e animal burrows, deformations, water seepage, etc.) resulting from internal disorders. However, this method is time-consuming for pluri-kilometric sections of dikes and not safe for the field operators during a flood. The DIDRO (DIke monitoring by DROnes) project develops a solution for high efficiency routine and crisis monitoring of dikes, using a UAV carrying multiple remote sensing sensors and aquatic equipment. Remote sensing sensors include LiDAR, thermal infrared, near-infrared and visible sensors and provide high resolution data of the surface of the dike. Such sensors, never combined on a UAV for this type of survey, allow the detection of a large number of surface indicators of internal and external dike disorders. Aquatic measurements consist 1) in flow velocity estimations using floating targets dropped in the river or in the sea by the UAV and 2) in a system for water turbidity estimation towed by the UAV. This system is particularly useful for the detection of erosion during a flood. Geophysical methods have been thought to be particularly useful to complement the UAV system and include electrical resistivity imagery, self potential and background seismic noise equipment. The UAV is then used to tow or to drop some of the equipments along the dike and to remotely collect data. This can be particularly useful during flooding, when accessing the dike may be dangerous. The switch from one payload configuration to another is made easy by a specific mounting system, adaptable to different types of UAV. This makes the DIDRO solution more easily deployable during flooding events. This presentation focuses on the description of the different payload configurations of DIDRO and on the specifications of the equipment used, and will present some results obtained during tests carried out on several dikes in France.