System and method for unmanned aerial vehicle-based magnetic survey

A method for surveying a region, comprising:

• providing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), comprising:
• a video camera, disposed on a UAV and configured to view an obstacle ahead of the UAV;
• an above-ground level sensor, configured to determine an actual above-ground level of the UAV during flight;
• a survey sensor comprising a magnetic gradiometer within a housing suspended at least 1.7 meters below the UAV during flight, configured to sense measure a vertical magnetic gradient corresponding to local magnetic features of the ground;
• and
• an automated control unit, configured to control the UAV according to a serpentine flight plan at a predetermined above-ground level having an altitude of less than 50 meters, subject to a vertical deviation from the predetermined above-ground level of the serpentine flight plan dependent on at least the viewed obstacle ahead of the UAV,
• the actual above-ground level of the UAV during flight, a predicted interference of the housing with the viewed obstruction, and a predetermined Digital Obstacle Model (DOM) representing a computational model of obstacles for the UAV at the above-ground level prior to flight;
• flying the UAV according to the serpentine flight plan, at the predetermined above-ground level, while monitoring the video camera for the obstacle ahead of the UAV and the housing;
• and
• receiving geotagged data from the magnetic gradiometer concurrently with said flying.

A unmanned aerial system, comprising:

• a video camera, disposed on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and configured to view an obstacle ahead of the UAV;
• a magnetic gradiometer comprising at least two magnetometers each having at least two a sensitivity of less than or equal to 1 pT/Hz and a sampling rate of at least 1,000 Hz suspended in a housing about 4 meters below the UAV;
• a LIDAR above-ground level sensor, configured to determine an actual above-ground level of the UAV during flight;
• and
• an automated control unit for the UAV, configured to control the UAV according to a serpentine flight plan at a predetermined above-ground level having an altitude of less than 50 meters, with a dynamically determined vertical deviation from the predetermined above-ground level of the serpentine flight plan dependent on at least the viewed obstruction ahead of the UAV, a predicted interference of the housing with the viewed obstruction, the actual above-ground level of the UAV during flight, and a predetermined Digital Obstacle Model (DOM) representing a computational model of obstacles for the UAV at the predetermined above-ground level prior to flight.