Acquisition of disaster emergency information using a terrain database by flying robots

Because of the frequent occurrence of large-scale disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and river floods, there is an increased demand for emergency response, restoration, and disaster prevention using robotic technology. One such technology involves assessment of the damage status using flying robots, which have undergone rapid development in recent years. In this study, using images of the disaster site obtained from a flying robot and a terrain database consisting of predisaster 3-D data, we aim to detect efficiently the collapse of electric utility poles, which are man-made objects, and the water level difference before and after river flooding, which is part of the natural landscape. By detecting these disaster-related events, we show the validity of the proposed method to assess the damage situation using the terrain database.