Integration of a UAV-LIDAR System for Remote Sensing of CO2 concentrations in Smart Agriculture

Precision agriculture is reliant on making timely, effective measurements to optimize workflow and crop yield. Manual inspection techniques are time consuming and do not support a frequent and autonomous monitoring of the field. This paper examines an innovative application of using a bistatic LIDAR sensor integrated into a UAV to monitor in-field CO
2
concentrations. Measuring variations in atmospheric CO
2
concentrations in agriculture can be used to detect plant health through correlation of photosynthesis efficiency and used to determine soil quality. LIDAR systems can maintain highly accurate measurements, particularly of small changes in CO
2
concentrations, from substantial distances, making it ideal for remote UAV monitoring. Integration of such system into the UAV requires resolving mechanical, electrical, communication computing and control aspects, which are addressed in this paper through a feasibility study of the ground station tracking the system to steer the gimbal, on which the sensor is mounted. There is substantial interest in determining the appropriate UAV platform and consequently the hardware and software architecture and integration into the UAS.