GEOG 892
Geospatial Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

Summary and final tasks

PrintPrint

Summary

Congratulations! You have just completed Lesson 5. I hope that you appreciated the value of the UAS imagery in producing geospatial data that is suitable for many applications in our day to day life. Ortho photo and digital elevation model are indispensable tools used in many environmental and engineering projects. Without them, we would have to put many boots on the ground to survey the terrain and provide the necessary data for engineering and planning. Practicing with the processing software Pix4D, which I selected for the course, will help you tremendously in appreciating the quality and value of the digital ortho photo and digital elevation model.

Final Tasks

Activities
1 Study Lesson 5 materials and the text books chapters assigned to the lesson
2

Start your first post for the discussion on "Human Elements of UAS " 

Participate in the "Human Elements of UAS" Discussion Forum

Post your opinion on the following topic and respond to at least two of your peers' postings:

Considering all elements that make a functioning UAS, one may think that the human element is the most important element of a UAS implementation. The human element complements and interacts in one way or another with most other UAS elements such as aerial vehicle, command and control, payloads, data and communication links, and launch and recovery. With the rapid pace of advancement in technology, one may expect that the importance of the human element will diminish as UAS technology is more mature and the UAS becomes more advanced.

  1. I agree that the human element will become less interactive, but stays important to the safe and successful implementation of a UAS. As navigation technologies advance, less interactive involvement will be needed, but the decision-making aspects stay with the human element. For example, launching and landing is automated, but a human will determine the best location for landing.
  2. I don't agree with the argument given in (1), as we created the system and we are the ones who should operate it to ensure sound performance and uncompromised public safety.

(3 points or 3%) Due date for this assignment is at the end of Lesson 6.
3 Submit your "CONOP and Risk Assessment" assignment report
4 Complete Lesson 5 Quiz
5 Start UAS Data Processing Using Pix4D for exercise 2
6 Submit final project idea
7 Attend the weekly call and Exercise 2 training on Thursday evening at 8:00pm ET