Autonomous 3D Reconstruction Using a MAV

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.