A blimp-based remote sensing system for low-altitude monitoring of plant variables: a preliminary experiment for agricultural and ecological applications

A blimp-based remote sensing system was developed for monitoring land surfa ce variables from low altitudes. The blimp was a helium-filled envelope 23 m long with a maximum diameter of 7 m. The blimp was designed to cruise at a maximum speed of 40 km h(-1) at altitudes between 30 and 400 m, under rad io control, with a payload of approximately 100 kg. The radio-controlled da ta acquisition system consisted of four monochromatic CCD video cameras wit h interference filters. The ability of the blimp to hover allowed the colle ction of a continuous set of high-quality images. The spatial variability b etween and within agricultural fields was mapped at a fine spatial resoluti on. The blimp-based system proved to be suitable for low-altitude remote se nsing of plant variables.