DREAM: DRone-based Electromagnetic Aerial Mapping

Understanding what lies beneath the ground is key to addressing wide-ranging societal problems: landslide hazards, pollution remediation, and locating raw materials and minerals for the green
transition. Numerous geophysical imaging solutions are available, but transient electromagnetics (TEM) has proven the most scalable technology delivering high-density data with deep information.
Both ground-based and airborne TEM systems exist, yet, no portable, ultra-lightweight TEM system exists. We address this need and will build such a system to map shallow geology in
inaccessible/sensitive terrains (App. A, Fig 1). 

We will develop a novel two-drone TEM system, comprised of a synchronized transmitter and receiver pair that fly in controlled formation, adapting to terrain. The system is flown using small,
easy deployable drones with a total weight below 25 kg. It will include advanced on-board capabilities, powered by ultra-high sampling rates (>12 MHz), that will unlock cutting-edge data
processing and compression capabilities, and enable real-time subsurface imaging based on physics-driven deep-learning. These outputs will be paired with unique multi-dimensional inversion
to deliver high resolution geophysical images that feed into a probabilistic geological modelling framework.
Taken together, the output will be a highly versatile drone-based imaging platform delivering high-value subsurface data key to tackling a wide range of societal challenges in Denmark and worldwide.

• AU-GEO
• Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland (De Nationale Geologiske Undersøgelser for Danmark og Grønland)
• Central Region Denmark (Region Midtjylland)
• TEMcompany ApS