Remotely-Piloted Mini-Helicopter Imaging of Citrus

A Miniature Aircraft Gas Xcell mini-helicopter was constructed, tuned, and trimmed to carry a sensor payload consisting of a Garmin WAAS GPS system, a digital compass and attitude sensor, and Videre digital stereovision system equipped with 12 mm lenses. The sensor payload was integrated and is able to take one megapixel images on both cameras at 7.5Hz and to store 4 GB of images onboard. A wireless communication system allows real-time viewing of the images on a remote laptop computer. The system worked successfully in a Florida citrus grove. Images that should be usable for determining tree health and characteristics and yield estimation were acquired.