Evaluation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Flood Risk Management: Field Experiment Conspectus
Abstract
The 2017 Duck Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Pilot Experiment was designed to evaluate existing and new UAS-based survey and monitoring techniques beneficial to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Flood Risk Management (FRM). The diverse array of UAS sensors (lidar, multispectral packages, and high-resolution cameras) can collect data to estimate topography, bathymetry, terrain, land cover, vegetation, and structures at high temporal and spatial resolution. The experiment took place on 524 June 2017 at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, Field Research Facility. Nine UAS flight teams from the federal government, academia, and the private sector conducted 180 UAS flights with 10 different UAS platforms as well as 2 traditional fixed-wing plane overhead surveys. The UAS flights combined for over 2,782 minutes of air time across estuarine, dune, beach, and nearshore environments, including various types of natural features and man-made infrastructure. Such datasets provide the foundation for quantitatively comparing the pros and cons of different platforms, sensor packages, and processing techniques against each other as well as traditional survey methods. This special report summarizes the cooperative June 2017 UAS for FRM pilot field experiment; sections detail participating groups, airframes, field preparation/field operations, and data dissemination.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1064151
Entities
People
- Alexander D. Renaud
- Brittany L. Bruder
- Katherine Brodie
- Nicholas J. Spore
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center