Applications
TEBIS Applications:
TEBSASS Applications:What is TEBIS used for?
TEBIS fills a gap in the Remote Sensing spectrum not already provided by aircraft and satellites.The TEBIS has applications in:
- Insurance valuations and assessment,
- Auditing,
- Fiducial and Evidentiary Records,
- Sites Surveillance and Monitoring,
- Environmental Impact Assessments,
- Cadastral Surveys and Research,
- Crop and Ranch Management,
- Wildlife and Livestock Inventory,
- Mine Stock-Pile and Earthworks Inventory,
- Continuous Updating of Collateral Value of Construction Works, New Farms and Mines,
- Regulations Compliance,
- Facilitating Resolution of Disputes in Construction Contracts,
- Hot-Spot Survey for Detection of Energy Wastage,
- UXO and Mine Clearance Detection and Mapping,
- Ground Truthing and Other Calibrating Studies of Satellite Imagery.
A Pilot Project with the National Land Management Authority (NLMA) of Lao PDR to examine the applicability of the TEBIS System for cadastral mapping in a developing country context is currently in progress. More details of this Pilot are available on the "Current Project" page.
In outline the steps required to use the TEBIS are:
Determine if a civil aviation clearance is needed for the site in question. This depends on your national regulations, the size of the balloon, the height you will send it to, the location of the site, and the time of the flight. Most national regulations allow tethered balloons equal access to airspace, provided regulations are followed.
- Apply for and secure the clearance, if necessary.
- Follow clearance provisions, if necessary.
Inflate the balloon at, or close to, the site to be imaged. (or bring the balloon already inflated in a trailer).
Install and start camera or other sensors on the ground.
Attach flight tether and detach anchor tether.
Play out flight tether to the desired height setting.
- Detach flight tether from the winch and attach to the operator’s harness.
Operator moves over the site (walking, driving or in a boat) at the prescribed speed following a set path using GPS. (This is for multiple scene imaging applications).
The camera’s or other sensor’s imaging can be radio controlled from the ground or set at a fixed interval.
- Direction of camera can be targeted if oblique imagery is needed. The operator uses a monitor to adjust the camera’s tilt and rotation.
Balloon is taken to a particular site and left under supervision for a fixed period (This is for single scene monitoring applications).
- Images or data are downloaded by radio, or stored in memory cards in the camera or sensor.
- At the end of the mission the balloon is winched to the ground, and the camera or sensors are removed from the platform.
Between missions the balloon can be stored inflated with air or gas in fixed or trailer hangarage, or it can be stored hanging or supported in a semi inflated state. It can be folded for transportation to work sites, packed in a small suitcase.
Caution: These steps are simplified and do not represent recommended safe procedures. TEBIS or TEBSASS operators should use only the Operations Manual.
TEBIS products include:
- Individual scenes from 0.04 ha (0.8cm resolution) to 100 ha (40cm resolution) per frame. Scenes can be vertical and rectified, or oblique. Each scene has a registered time and date and location.
A typical c.100ha (830m * 1,245m) scene of small rural town.
18-May-2006 time - 10:20:25
A typical c.100ha (830m x 1,245m) scene of a flood plain river. Note river bed morphology is clearly evident.
10-Mar-2006 time – 11:36:20
A typical c.0.06ha (20m x 30m) for monitoring fish feeding marks on rocks in river gorge
17-Apr-2005 time – 13:33:49
- Imaging of sites up to 1,000ha in size. (Large sites would be better covered by aircraft if that is possible). Product possibilities include:
- A selection of overlapping images can be rectified and stitched into ortho-mozaic photo maps;
- Stereo pairs suitable for standard plotting applications
- Stereo pairs can be auto-plotted to provide Digital Terrain Models of the entire scene.
Overlapping images rectified and stitched into ortho-mozaics to illustrate reservoir filling, 2004
Village ortho-mozaic photo map for land titling and land use planning - Land Titling Pilot Project NLMA, 2007. More details of this Pilot are available on the "Current Project" page
Stereo pairs suitable for standard plotting applications, 2005
Terrain Models, 2005
- Single or multiple scenes as overlays, appropriately scaled and converted to the appropriate projection model, placed precisely onto other maps or imagery
Stereo pairs suitable for standard plotting applications.
2005.
Stereo pairs suitable for standard plotting applications, 2005
- Analysed single or multiple scenes for mapping vegetation, land use, drainage and erosion phenomena, rock exposures, infrastructure, waterways, river bank and bed conditions, coastal features (dunes, beaches, tidal zones) or estimating tree numbers and species, timber volumes, numbers of animals and animal signs, dwellings, vehicles, boats etc.
Livestock inventory, 2004
Land use mapping - land titling, 2004.
Cadastral Map - Land Titling Pilot Project NLMA, 2007. More details of this Pilot are available on the "Current Project" page
Land use mapping - paddy rice fields, 2005.
Land use mapping - irrigated tobacco cultivation, 2005 (723Canon). Note main irrigation canal layout and field feeder canals
2006 TEBIS composite image overlay on 1992 map to examine drainage and erosion phenomena
Dams and associated structures 2005
Dams and associated structures, 2005
Roads, bridges, and power-lines, 2005
Roads, bridges and reservoir access, 2005
There are many situations where conventional aerial photography is a superior application to TEBIS. However TEBIS has some distinct advantages for less extensive tasks and for investigations and research. They are:
- much lower capital and mobilisation costs.
- minimal environmental costs and impacts (noise, carbon costs)
- less dependence of atmospheric, climatic, daylight, security, legal and nuisance (noise) restrictions.
- much lower risks and insurance liabilities.
- after initial purchase and training generally less advance planning time is needed.
- locations of imaging are independent of satellite orbits and planned aircraft missions, and under your complete control.
- frequency of sensing not limited.
- continuous and real-time sensing in the same location is possible.
- platform does not need to move to maintain elevation, and creates minimal atmospheric disturbance.
- reasonable images between or under clouds which can be difficult to provide with conventional air photography services.
- images are up-to-date, and cheap enough to be frequently brought up-to-date in the future. e.
- affords the operator a conspicuous and non-intrusive way of informing the public of his activities, through appropriate placarding on the balloon envelope.
The TEBSASS has applications in:
- Atmospheric condition profiling using sensor arrays held between two balloons, or suspended from one balloon in the lowest troposphere layers to 1000m above the ground, d,
- Detection of threshold atmospheric conditions for Regulators and Heath & Safety Agencies,
- Near-ground atmospheric research,
- Research into dispersal of pathogens, gases, solvents, vapours, insect pests, aerosols, and small particles,
- Monitoring nuisance conditions (noise, smells) and confirming regulation's compliance. e.
In outline the steps required to use the TEBSASS are:
- Determine if a civil aviation clearance is needed for the mission in question. This depends on your national regulations, the size of the balloon, the height you will send it to, the location of the site, and the time of the flight. Most national regulations allow tethered balloons equal access to airspace, provided regulations are followed. d.
- Apply for and secure the clearance, as necessary.
- Follow clearance provisions, as necessary.
- Inflate the balloon at or close to the launch site, (or bring the balloon already inflated in a trailer).
- Install and start sensors or collectors on the ground.
- Attach flight tether and detach anchor tether.
- Play out flight tether to the desired height setting, or lay out ground tethers if operations are to be at low level over hazardous or inaccessible areas.
- Deploy pulley system if ground tethers are to be used.
- Detach flight tether from winch and attach to anchor. pulley or operator as required for the mission
- The sensor’s operations can be radio controlled from the ground or set at a fixed interval.
- Sensor data are downloaded by radio, or stored in memory cards in the sensor.
- At the end of the mission the balloon is winched to the ground, and the sensors or collectors are removed from the platform.
These steps are simplified and do not represent recommended safe procedures. Most TEBSASS missions will require an amended Operations Manual. STEBSASS operators should use only the appropriately amended Operations Manual.
TEBSASS products include:
- Ways to collect information about atmospheric conditions in locations where conventional towers cannot be erected.
- Ways to determine best locations for tower erection by prior reconnaissance.
- Uniquely mobile method to study the near ground atmosphere (NGA) phenomena without the interference of structures at experimental sites, over natural phenomena and in strategic locations close to potentially damaging emission sources.
- A safe way to move sensors or collectors over the ground at low level along a precise track to develop an accurate picture of buried objects, gas leaks or radiation.
- Wind speed records over long periods at selected locations and heights above the ground.
- Monitoring of particles, pathogens, emissions, pests and vectors at selected locations and heights above the ground.
Many TEBSASS applications are better performed using towers. However TEBSASS has some distinct advantages for less extensive tasks and for investigations and research. They are:
- much lower capital and mobilisation costs.
- minimal environmental costs and impacts (noise, carbon costs)
- less dependence of atmospheric, climatic, daylight, security, legal and nuisance (noise) restrictions.
- much lower risks and insurance liabilities.
- after initial purchase and training generally less advance planning time in needed.
- frequency of sensing or collecting is not limited.
- continuous and real-time sensing and collecting in the same location is possible.
- platform does not need to move to maintain elevation, and creates minimal atmospheric disturbance. (This provides appreciable advantages over helicopter-borne survey methods.)
- affords the operator a conspicuous and non-intrusive way of informing the public of his activities through appropriate placarding on the balloon envelope.
For more information contact: info@balloonaerialphoto.com