Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) + drone to locate gas pipes

A pilot project in collaboration with Conexus Baltic Grid, to verify the applicability of #airborne Ground Penetrating Radars (#GPR) to locate underground gas pipes.

For the subsurface surveys, 124 MHz and 500 MHz GPR antennas were used integrated with a DJI M600 #drone.

The full integration is ensured by adding the onboard UgCS data logger to the system, which automatically on drone take-off starts the logging of GPR data and geotagging it with GPS positions.

The system is also enriched with a laser altimeter, to ensure the flight in True Terrain Following mode - mimicking the surface relief to ensure the #GPR is flown as low as possible.

Drone's flight is planned and managed using the full functionality of ground control software #UgCS.

Results: The 700mm steel pipe is clearly detectable from altitude up to 7meters using 500 MHz #GPR system in sandy soil (typical for Latvia). Acquired and processed data samples can be downloaded on

Discover GPR+drone integrated system:


JSC „Conexus Baltic Grid” is a unified natural gas transmission and storage operator in Latvia.
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For gas infrastructure inspections the drone integrated system can be equipped with a laser methane (CH4) detector. Discover:

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