Autonomous Active Mapping in Steep Alpine Environments with Fixed-wing Aerial Vehicles

Abstract: Monitoring large scale environments is a crucial task for managing remote alpine environments, especially for hazardous events such as avalanches. One key information for avalanche risk forecast is imagery of released avalanches. As these happen in remote and potentially dangerous locations this data is difficult to obtain. Fixed-wing vehicles, due to their long range and travel speeds are a promising platform to gather aerial imagery to map avalanche activities. However, operating such vehicles in mountainous terrain remains a challenge due to the complex topography, regulations, and uncertain environment. In this work, we present a system that is capable of safely navigating and mapping an avalanche using a fixed-wing aerial system and discuss the challenges arising when executing such a mission. We show in our field experiments that we can effectively navigate in steep terrain environments while maximizing the map quality. We expect our work to enable more autonomous operations of fixed-wing vehicles in alpine environments to maximize the quality of the data gathered.