Hands-On Surveying with UAS (Drones)

I would really like to go to this. For those of you who can, take advantage of the:
Fun
Good
Fellowship
Education
And opportunity to learn!

We're here and apparently there are about 80 folks registered for the event. Looking forward to learning more about drones, since I know very little and am intrigued. 🙂 So far, the only RPLS Today alum in attendance that I recognize is [USER=404]@John1Minor2[/USER] who is sitting right next to me.

Scratch that, [USER=11843]@Jerry Anderson[/USER] is also in attendance. 🙂

Sorry I'm not there. Just too dang busy.

Mark Mayer, post: 387703, member: 424 wrote: Sorry I'm not there. Just too dang busy.

Where's the dislike button? Somebody needs to light a fire under the admin of this site. Oh wait.....

I did not realize that [USER=404]@John1Minor2[/USER] was such a celebrity -- apparently he is the backbone of OGUG, which started as a support group for the HARN network. Cool stuff and I'm honored to share this table with him. 🙂

Eric Gakstatter introducing us to drones, types of drones, regulatory information and an overview of what we'll do today. We're going to actually participate in demos of UAS surveying processes outside, then we'll process the data.

Has the FAA published the licensing regulations yet?

David C. Newell RPLS LS CFM, post: 387715, member: 6347 wrote: Has the FAA published the licensing regulations yet?

https://surveyorconnect.com/topics/remote-sensing-aerial/dot-and-faa-finalize-rules-for-small-uas/&apos ;">DOT and FAA Finalize Rules for Small UAS

Online UAS registration with the FAA is now available at: https://registermyuas.faa.gov/

Apparently a quad copter will only run for about 20 minutes, so battery management is critical to an efficient work day. Eric says you can probably cover about 600 acres in a day, but you'd be making a lot of battery changes.

Fixed wing UAS can cover a much greater area and batteries last for about 50 minutes, but landing them is difficult. Greater expertise is required to operate them. For example: with quad copters, if you let go of the controls, it will just hover wherever it's at; with fixed wing, if you let go of the controls, it will just keep on going and be long gone before you know it.

Helpful links:
https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com/drone_mapping
https://conservationdrones.org/

Apparently, when selecting a camera to use with your drone, you should find one with an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APS-C&apos ;">APS-C sensor or better.

I'm curious how much does the camera size in megapixel relates to the accuracy of the mapping?

For example a 38MP vs 12MP camera.

I have processed both in Pix4d, and both can yield a 2cm/pixel GSD, but at different Altitudes.

They recommend the following brands of UAS for surveying purposes:
http://www.precisionhawk.com/
https://www.sensefly.com/
http://uas.trimble.com/

leegreen, post: 387730, member: 2332 wrote: I'm curious how much does the camera size in megapixel relates to the accuracy of the mapping?

For example a 38MP vs 12MP camera.

I have processed both in Pix4d, and both can yield a 2cm/pixel GSD, but at different Altitudes.

When he was talking about cameras, I believe he said the Sony camera he was using is 12mp, but he blew right past that, saying that the sensor type is the most critical.

UPDATE: He says that the megapixel rating isn't really that critical, as long as it's decent. The sensor is most critical, so you could have a lower megapixel camera with a better sensor and get much better results than a low-end sensor and a high megapixel rating. Another guy mentioned that shutter speed is important as well, suggesting 4,000ths of a second.