scholarly journals Testing the utility of structure-from-motion photogrammetry reconstructions using small unmanned aerial vehicles and ground photography to estimate the extent of upland soil erosion

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1860-1871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Glendell ◽  
Gareth McShane ◽  
Luke Farrow ◽  
Mike R. James ◽  
John Quinton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Upland Soil ◽  
Aerial Vehicles

scholarly journals Operational Framework for Rapid, Very-high Resolution Mapping of Glacial Geomorphology Using Low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Structure-from-Motion Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek W. Ewertowski ◽  
Aleksandra M. Tomczyk ◽  
David J. A. Evans ◽  
David H. Roberts ◽  
Wojciech Ewertowski
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Glacial Geomorphology ◽  
High Resolution Mapping ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Resolution Mapping ◽  
Very High

This study presents the operational framework for rapid, very-high resolution mapping of glacial geomorphology, with the use of budget Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and a structure-from-motion approach. The proposed workflow comprises seven stages: (1) Preparation and selection of the appropriate platform; (2) transport; (3) preliminary on-site activities (including optional ground-control-point collection); (4) pre-flight setup and checks; (5) conducting the mission; (6) data processing; and (7) mapping and change detection. The application of the proposed framework has been illustrated by a mapping case study on the glacial foreland of Hørbyebreen, Svalbard, Norway. A consumer-grade quadcopter (DJI Phantom) was used to collect the data, while images were processed using the structure-from-motion approach. The resultant orthomosaic (1.9 cm ground sampling distance—GSD) and digital elevation model (7.9 cm GSD) were used to map the glacial-related landforms in detail. It demonstrated the applicability of the proposed framework to map and potentially monitor detailed changes in a rapidly evolving proglacial environment, using a low-cost approach. Its coverage of multiple aspects ensures that the proposed framework is universal and can be applied in a broader range of settings.

Using UAVs to Manage Archaeological Heritage

2020 ◽  
pp. 247-264
Author(s):  
Erin Friedman ◽  
Cory Look ◽  
Matthew Brown
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Heritage Management ◽  
Aerial Imagery ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Sugar Plantation ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Archaeological Excavations

This chapter explores the use of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for the use of archaeological investigations and heritage management at the historic sugar plantation of Betty’s Hope, Antigua. While the acquisition of low flying aerial imagery, such as kite photography, has been common practice within archaeological research, recent software innovations coupling photogrammetry and UAV technologies are providing new tools for exploration. Two different approaches for UAV acquisition are explored in this chapter: the first for use within archaeological excavations and the second for use at studying the landscape. Both have particular implications for heritage management, as the use of structure from motion (SfM) methodology coupled with aerial imagery can be used to produce an accurate 3D surface model of the site that is akin to site scanners and LiDAR technology. The important differences and limitations to these technologies are discussed.

scholarly journals Advances in mapping sub-canopy snow depth with unmanned aerial vehicles using structure from motion and lidar techniques

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Harder ◽  
John W. Pomeroy ◽  
Warren D. Helgason
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Canadian Prairie ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Consistent Error

Abstract. Vegetation has a tremendous influence on snow processes and snowpack dynamics yet remote sensing techniques to resolve the spatial variability of sub-canopy snow depth are lacking. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have had recent widespread application to capture high resolution information on snow processes and are herein applied to the sub-canopy snow depth challenge. Previous demonstrations of snow depth mapping with UAV Structure from Motion (SfM) and airborne-lidar have focussed on non-vegetated surfaces or reported large errors in the presence of vegetation. In contrast, UAV-lidar systems have high-density point clouds, measure returns from a wide range of scan angles, and so have a greater likelihood of successfully sensing the sub-canopy snow depth. The effectiveness of UAV-lidar and UAV-SfM in mapping snow depth in both open and forested terrain was tested in a 2019 field campaign in the Canadian Rockies Hydrological Observatory, Alberta and at Canadian Prairie sites near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Only UAV-lidar could successfully measure the sub-canopy snow surface with reliable sub-canopy point coverage, and consistent error metrics (RMSE

scholarly journals Habitat suitability maps for juvenile tri-spine horseshoe crabs in Japanese intertidal zones: A model approach using unmanned aerial vehicles and the Structure from Motion technique

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244494
Author(s):  
Akihiko Koyama ◽  
Taiga Hirata ◽  
Yuki Kawahara ◽  
Hiroki Iyooka ◽  
Haruka Kubozono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Habitat Suitability ◽  
Tidal Range ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Intertidal Zones ◽  
Intertidal Flats ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Suitability Maps

The tri-spine horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus, is a threatened species that inhabits coastal areas from South to East Asia. A Conservation management system is urgently required for managing its nursery habitats, i.e., intertidal flats, especially in Japan. Habitat suitability maps are useful in drafting conservation plans; however, they have rarely been prepared for juvenile T. tridentatus. In this study, we examined the possibility of constructing robust habitat suitability models (HSMs) for juveniles based on topographical data acquired using unmanned aerial vehicles and the Structure from Motion (UAV-SfM) technique. The distribution data of the juveniles in the Tsuyazaki and Imazu intertidal flats from 2017 to 2019 were determined. The data were divided into a training dataset for HSM construction and three test datasets for model evaluation. High accuracy digital surface models were built for each region using the UAV-SfM technique. Normalized elevation was assessed by converting the topographical models that consider the tidal range in each region, and the slope was calculated based on these models. Using the training data, HSMs of the juveniles were constructed with normalized elevation and slope as the predictor variables. The HSMs were evaluated using the test data. The results showed that HSMs exhibited acceptable discrimination performance for each region. Habitat suitability maps were built for the juveniles in each region, and the suitable areas were estimated to be approximately 6.1 ha of the total 19.5 ha in Tuyazaki, and 3.7 ha of the total 7.9 ha area in Imazu. In conclusion, our findings support the usefulness of the UAV-SfM technique in constructing HSMs for juvenile T. tridentatus. The monitoring of suitable habitat areas for the juveniles using the UAV-SfM technique is expected to reduce survey costs, as it can be conducted with fewer investigators over vast intertidal zones within a short period of time.

scholarly journals Improving sub-canopy snow depth mapping with unmanned aerial vehicles: lidar versus structure-from-motion techniques

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1919-1935
Author(s):  
Phillip Harder ◽  
John W. Pomeroy ◽  
Warren D. Helgason
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Snow Surface ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Error Metrics ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. Vegetation has a tremendous influence on snow processes and snowpack dynamics, yet remote sensing techniques to resolve the spatial variability of sub-canopy snow depth are not always available and are difficult from space-based platforms. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have had recent widespread application to capture high-resolution information on snow processes and are herein applied to the sub-canopy snow depth challenge. Previous demonstrations of snow depth mapping with UAV structure from motion (SfM) and airborne lidar have focussed on non-vegetated surfaces or reported large errors in the presence of vegetation. In contrast, UAV-lidar systems have high-density point clouds and measure returns from a wide range of scan angles, increasing the likelihood of successfully sensing the sub-canopy snow depth. The effectiveness of UAV lidar and UAV SfM in mapping snow depth in both open and forested terrain was tested in a 2019 field campaign at the Canadian Rockies Hydrological Observatory, Alberta, and at Canadian prairie sites near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Only UAV lidar could successfully measure the sub-canopy snow surface with reliable sub-canopy point coverage and consistent error metrics (root mean square error (RMSE) <0.17 m and bias −0.03 to −0.13 m). Relative to UAV lidar, UAV SfM did not consistently sense the sub-canopy snow surface, the interpolation needed to account for point cloud gaps introduced interpolation artefacts, and error metrics demonstrated relatively large variability (RMSE<0.33 m and bias 0.08 to −0.14 m). With the demonstration of sub-canopy snow depth mapping capabilities, a number of early applications are presented to showcase the ability of UAV lidar to effectively quantify the many multiscale snow processes defining snowpack dynamics in mountain and prairie environments.

scholarly journals Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for High-Resolution Reconstruction of Topography: The Structure from Motion Approach on Coastal Environments

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 6880-6898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Mancini ◽  
Marco Dubbini ◽  
Mario Gattelli ◽  
Francesco Stecchi ◽  
Stefano Fabbri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Coastal Environments ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
High Resolution Reconstruction
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