Detection of Helicopter Landing Sites in Unprepared Terrain

Kurzfassung

Landing in unprepared areas is a task common for helicopter search and rescue missions. Selecting a proper landing spot by fly-by and inspection can be costly in time and fuel. We present a method for pre-selecting a list of possible landing sites. After specifying parameters, a choice of possibilities is presented to the pilot that can be ordered by means of wind direction, terrain constraints, and proximity to a mission target. Possibilities are calculated automatically from a terrain data base, or from sensor data collected during earlier missions. Additional data like water-body maps and topological information can be taken into account. We outline the algorithm, and we present examples.