Loïca Avanthey and Laurent Beaudoin, SEAL researchers (Sense, Explore, Analyze and Learn) from the Image Processing group, address the theme of exploration robotics in a transversal way by focusing on all aspects of the chain: from acquisition to data valorization through electronics, mechanics and high as well as low level constrained programming.
They design, develop and operate in the field easily deployable multi-environment exploration robots, equipped with their dedicated payloads and accompanied by their custom software suites. The mission of these aerial, terrestrial, surface or underwater drones: to acquire data to reconstruct in 3D the explored environments or to create thematic maps.
These products are mainly made for biologists, archaeologists, botanists, vulcanologists, ecologists, physicists, etc. Indeed, for many scientific themes (environment, heritage, defence, etc.) or industrial themes (audits of structures, agriculture, town planning, etc.), the need for 3D reconstruction or cartography is essential. In this context, the arrival of drones, whatever their environment, is revolutionizing the possibilities thanks to their new capacities: on-demand acquisition, access to very high resolution, systematization of acquisition, etc.
Key words : close-range remote sensing, multimedia field robotics (underwater vehicles, surface vehicles, ground vehicles and aerial vehicles), algorithmic under constraint, underwater photogrammetry, computer vision, autonomous navigation.