FOR375 DRONES AND GIS SPRING 2016

Lecture 20 – Drones and GIS

DRONES AND GIS – AND OVERVIEW • • • •

Drones – a recent phenomena? Drone cost, advantages/disadvantages Drone usage Open source • • • •

Drones and Fire Drones and Conservation Kites Balloons

WHAT ARE DRONES? • • • • •

Also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) Remotely controlled from the ground Uses a camera or spectral imaging device mounted on the vehicle Used for gathering images in its flight path Can contain a gps, accelerometer, magnetometer, or other measurement devices related to location.

CONSERVATION APPLICATIONS OF DRONES •

Map land changes due to deforestation

•

Monitor illegal poaching

CONSERVATION APPLICATIONS OF DRONES • • •

Track movements of large animals Survey edge effects along wildlife corridors (Koh & Wich, 2012)

Watch a TEDtalk about conservation drones in the next slide

ADVANTAGES OF DRONES Does not require specialized knowledge or complex algorithms like traditional remote sensing techniques

(Flynn & Chapra, 2014)

ADVANTAGES OF DRONES Much more affordable than using proprietary satellite products Control mechanisms can be more sophisticated (advantage and disadvantage)

ADVANTAGES OF DRONES Able to gather information at low altitudes, therefore not affected by cloud cover

ADVANTAGES OF DRONES Provides real-time data that can be accessed through mobile devices, or other mechansims (Saleem, Rehmani, & Zeadally, 2015)

ADVANTAGES OF DRONES Unmanned sampling of remote areas cuts down on required labor time

(Flynn & Chapra, 2014; Koh & Wich, 2012)

DISADVANTAGES OF DRONES Did I say drones and UAVs were cheap??? •

While costs are lower than traditional satellites, range of cost can be 30-60k

•

Require training

•

Expertise and mechanical ability

DISADVANTAGES OF DRONES Light reflection over water surface can interfere with images in aquatic sampling. Drone analysis over very large areas can be difficult, given range and flying distance •

Flynn & Chapra, 2014;

•

Kwon, Yoder, Baek, Gruber, & Pack, 2014

DISADVANTAGES OF DRONES Collisions with overhanging branches or other flying objects may occur and cause injury (Tadjdeh, 2012)

DISADVANTAGES OF DRONES Noise of drone’s motor may disturb wildlife (Flynn & Chapra, 2014)

DISADVANTAGES OF DRONES Possible privacy issues if used inappropriately

FAA REGULATIONS FOR DRONES Operator must maintain visual contact with • Parameters of sampling must comply with FAA the drone regulations

Flight path must avoid noise-sensitive • Registration is now mandatory for UAV over 0.55 lb areas and under 55 lb.

Drones must fly under 122 m. altitude •

Height restrictions on flight

Flight control personnel must be notified if • Cant fly within a specified distance of certain landmarks drones are within 4.8 km of an airport (Flynn & Chapra, 2014)

A SPECIFIC APPLICATION OF DRONES IN CONSERVATION Problem: Invasive algal blooms negatively impact biodiversity

How can drones help scientists study this issue?

CLADOPHORA: AN ECOLOGICAL ISSUE Cladophora is a green filamentous alga that is an invasive species in many aquatic systems Thick mats of Cladophora impact fauna and flora by blocking out light and competing for resources

(Flynn & Chapra, 2014)

CLADOPHORA: AN ECOLOGICAL ISSUE Cladophora provides shelter and nutrients to pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella in the water, causing human disease Avian botulism is associated with algal blooms of Cladophora (Lan Chun et al., 2015; Verhougstraete, Rose, Byappanahalli, & Whitman, 2010)

DRONE MONITORING OF CLADOPHORA Multi-spectral sensors mounted on drones flew repeated missions to gather data on Cladophora

DRONE MONITORING OF CLADOPHORA Data collected on growth cycle and biomass distribution of Cladophora will help scientists predict and control its spread Historical changes of biomass patterns can be chronicled over time by building an image data base for future research

(Flynn & Chapra, 2014)

COMPARING SATELLITE AND DRONE GENERATED MAPS OF CLADOPHORA BIOMASS

Satellite generated map

(Brooks, Grimm, Shuchman, Sayers, & Jessee, 2015)

Drone generated map

(Flynn & Chapra, 2014)

ALTERNATIVES TO TYPICAL UAV/DRONES

George Lawrence, 1906, San Francisco

Kites •

Panoramic photos, Multispectral

ALTERNATIVES TO TYPICAL UAV/DRONES Balloons •

Ballon mapping kit!

http://store.publiclab.org/products/balloon-mapping-kit •

MapKnitter – making maps from balloon images

REFERENCES MENTIONED IN PRESENTATION •

Brooks, C., Grimm, A., Shuchman, R., Sayers, M., & Jessee, N. (2015). A satellite-based multi-temporal assessment of the extent of nuisance Cladophora and related submerged aquatic vegetation for the Laurentian Great Lakes. Remote Sensing of Environment, 157, 58-71. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.032

•

Flynn, K. F., & Chapra, S. C. (2014). Remote Sensing of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in a Shallow Non-Turbid River Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Remote Sensing, 6(12), 12815-12836. doi: 10.3390/rs61212815

•

Koh, L. P., & Wich, S. A. (2012). Dawn of drone ecology: low-cost autonomous aerial vehicles for conservation. Tropical Conservation Science, 5(2), 121-132.

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Kwon, H., Yoder, J., Baek, S., Gruber, S., & Pack, D. (2014). Maximizing Water Surface Target Localization Accuracy Under Sunlight Reflection with an Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 74(12), 395-411.

REFERENCES MENTIONED IN PRESENTATION •

Lan Chun, C., Kahn, C. I., Borchert, A. J., Byappanahalli, M. N., Whitman, R. L., Peller, J., . . . Sadowsky, M. J. (2015). Prevalence of toxin-producing Clostridium botulinum associated with the macroalga Cladophora in three Great Lakes: Growth and management. Science of the Total Environment, 511, 523-529. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.080

•

Saleem, Y., Rehmani, M. H., & Zeadally, S. (2015). Review: Integration of Cognitive Radio Technology with unmanned aerial vehicles: Issues, opportunities, and future research challenges. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 50, 15-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jnca.2014.12.002

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Verhougstraete, M. P., Rose, J. B., Byappanahalli, M. N., & Whitman, R. L. (2010). Cladophora in the Great Lakes: impacts on beach water quality and human health. Water Science & Technology, 62(1), 68-76. doi: 10.2166/wst.2010.230

DRONES AND GIS – WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW