UAV Mapping
UAV mapping, also known as drone mapping is used to map large areas in a quick, cost effective manner and to provide hard data that can be used for a variety of applications.
At Water Solutions, UAV mapping involves a lot of things. some of them are:
Photogrammetry- Taking measurements from pictures taken from the drones.
Orthomosaic - An aerial image corrected for topographic relief, camera tilt, and distortions in camera optic so that the scale of the image is uniform throughout.
RGB Camera - A traditional type of camera used in mapping. Takes colour pictures
NDVI - Also known as Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, which is a derived image (usually from a modified RGB or near IR sensor). NDVI takes the reflective light from the plant. The more reflective a plant is, the more chlorophyll a plant has. this can be used to analyse vegetation, and therefore analyse crops.
GCP - Ground Control Point, is a physical marker on the ground that is used to keep maps geographically accurate. This can be used to align the map data with the surrounding geographical area.
Near Infrared - A spectrum of light that is slightly below the wavelength of visible light. NIR reflects off plants and can indicate how healthy it is.
Infrared (Thermography) - This can be used to detect heat. This is useful for industrial applications
RTK - Real Time Kinematics satellite navigation is a centimeter-accurate technique of obtaining GPS (or any GNSS) data.
Point Cloud - A point cloud is the collection of points or coordinates on an object’s surface. This collection of points can be used to create a 3D model of an area. Point Clouds are often derived from photogrammetric and LIDAR data.
WHAT IS UAV MAPPING USED FOR?
UAV Mapping is becoming more and more useful with the advancement of drone technologies and how quick the data can be collected. Some of those applications are as follows:
Land Surveying
Construction
Real Estate
Agriculture
Forestry
Emergency Management
