Research Seminar: The use of mapping drones for natural resource investigations: capabilities, limitations and case studies

Find out what researchers can expect from programmable, GPS-guided autonomous aircraft.

It has been reported many places that as soon as our government finalizes the rules for the use of private drones for commercial (including research) applications, there will be a virtual explosion of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) unleashed in our skies.  Since the commercial use of drones has been legal in many other countries for years, there are numerous examples of how mapping drones have revolutionized many aspects of remote sensing data acquisition and analysis.  

This seminar will focus specifically on a category of UAS called a mapping drone, which is typically a fixed-wing, GPS-guided, mission programmable vehicle which, once launched, performs its mission autonomously.  Upon landing, the imagery acquired is processed using professional photogrammetric software capable of producing digital elevation (terrain) models, orthorectified 3-D photomosaics, and other products. 

This seminar will include field demonstrations of the mapping drone in flight and the generation of output products of interest to UMBS personnel.

Dr. William H. Anderson is an Adjunct Professor of Remote Sensing at the University of Minnesota. He has been involved with remote sensing for over 40 years, including as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Michigan and the Ohio State University. He previously worked as Director of Applications Development for Daedalus, Inc., the leading manufacturerof airborne multispectral and hyperspectral scanner systems worldwide, in Ann Arbor. Anderson received his M.S. in Botany and Geodetic Science from Ohio State and his Ph.D. in Remote Sensing from the University of Michigan.