Identification of unprepared landing sites for helicopters using geospatial data

Kurzfassung

The identification of landing sites in unprepared terrain without additional sensory is of vital importance for helicopters, especially in emergency services. Therefore, an algorithm is presented, that utilizes elevation data to compute the slope of terrain as well as geospatial data to identify obstacles. The identification of landing sites can be adjusted using a set of parameters regarding the minimal size of a landing site and the search area around a destination point. The algorithm identifies a list of potential landing sites free of obstacles and with a slope of terrain below a specified threshold to allow safe landing. Results for landing sites in an exemplary search area are presented and discussed. The execution time of the algorithm allows for real-time use during or previous to a flight.