Unmanned Aerial Systems

Our Center is an active hub for:

• Research using UAS data for terrain analysis
• Education about UAS operations and analytics through courses and workshops
• Technical support for UAS mission planning, imagery processing and analytics

We are also building a campus-wide community of practitioners, scholars and educators from across NC State University to share knowledge about and from UAS.

UAS Research

Data collection methods using Unmanned Aerial Systems are rapidly expanding possibilities for terrain analysis. We develop and apply the latest techniques to improve spatial understanding.

RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Overland Flow Analysis Using Time Series of sUAS-derived Elevation Models

Agricultural areas are characterized by frequent changes in microtopography that influence the surface water flow. We used a small UAS (sUAS) with a consumer-grade camera, and Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms deriving 3-D data from RGB imagery, to track changes in surface water flow in an agricultural field in Raleigh, NC. We show that the sUAS-based data is suitable for overland flow predictions and has several advantages over lidar data.

Read the paper

UAS Roadmap: Supporting North Carolina Department of Transportation

NCDOT uses a Wetland Predictive Modeling tool to help identify the location and extent of wetlands along potential road corridors. In collaboration with department staff, we are exploring possibilities for using UAS-acquired data to increase model accuracy, thus reducing the cost and improving the outcome of road planning projects and wetland protection.

Read the paper

Fusion of High-Resolution DEMs for Water Flow Modeling

UAS are useful for updating digital elevation models (DEMs) with higher-resolution data at low cost, but differences in spatial coverage and levels of detail can create gaps in the boundaries along newly mapped areas. To generate a seamless updated DEM, we propose a generalized approach to DEM fusion with a smooth transition while preserving important topographic features.

Read the paper

Developing Rapid 3-D GIS Updates with UAS

A team from the City of Raleigh, North Carolina State University, and the North Carolina Next Generation Network are working to develop a framework for producing high-resolution 3-D data that can be used to generate GIS base layers in hours rather than days. The project investigates the feasibility of deploying small UAS equipped with high-resolution cameras or lidar sensors to quickly and economically collect custom data in targeted areas, such as sites of ongoing or recently completed construction, post-storm floodplains or park renovation sites.

Visit the Project Website

UAS Education

Unmanned Aerial Systems are revolutionizing data collection in the geospatial sciences. We keep students and professionals at the cutting edge of emerging technology and analysis.

For Enrolled Students

Already a graduate student at NC State? Enroll in the special topics course “UAS Mapping for 3D Modeling,” co-taught by the center’s associate director of geovisualization Helena Mitasova (professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences) and research associate Justyna Jeziorska. Learn how to collect data with UAS, process 3-D point clouds, and create terrain models. Understand how to visualize time series data from UAV-based lidar and experience hands-on training in the field and lab. Each student conducts an independent project, innovating a new solution to a research problem in their field of study.

UAS news

More

November 05, 2021

Keeping Track of Rare Mountaintop Plants with Drones

Researchers from the Center for Geospatial Analytics have devised a method to more safely and efficiently monitor endangered high-elevation plants, by predicting their likely locations and then flying drones in high-probability areas to collect imagery.

September 17, 2020

Scientists Pilot Drones in Effort to Save Trees From Invasive Beetle

NC State researchers are using drones to try to find ash trees with natural resistance to the emerald ash borer invasive pest, and Center research associate Justyna Jeziorska is is leading the drone reconnaissance effort.

August 13, 2020

Taking Research with Drones to New Heights

NC State alum and current doctoral student Will Reckling is putting drones to work in new and unique ways to monitor the environment––from finding rare plants on the tops of mountains to mapping harmful algal blooms and even collecting water samples.

December 17, 2019

UAVs and Christmas Trees: New Research to Help NC Growers Benefit From Drone Technology

A new partnership between NC State’s Christmas Tree Extension Team and Center for Geospatial Analytics will test how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) can help NC Christmas tree growers more efficiently monitor tree size and health.

February 22, 2019

Student Travel: Delving into Precision Agriculture at AGU

At the 2018 AGU Fall Meeting, Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student Kellyn Montgomery presented her latest research examining predictors of crop yield with drone imagery of agricultural fields.

July 02, 2018

Taking Flight with Drone Research

Winner of a 2018 NASA/NC Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship, incoming Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student Kellyn Montgomery is launching an innovative study of crop health this summer.