Geospatial Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems

Catalog description

This course provides an introduction to the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) from the geospatial perspective which includes UAS sensors and platforms, civilian and remote sensing applications, sensors calibration and boresighting, operational requirements, data processing using specialized software to derive products such as ortho-rectified imagery, multispectral imagery, digital terrain and surface models, current rules and regulations governing owning and operating a UAS in the United States. Students receive hands-on experience of UAS mission planning and flying with both fixed-wing and multi-rotor UAS for environmental data collection outside the classroom. The course content also prepares students for the remote pilot exam conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Students complete hands-on lab exercises involving UAS data pre-processing and analysis to generate geospatial products and assess their accuracy. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students have additional course requirements/expectations. Lect. 2, Lab 2. Prerequisite: GEO 305 ; junior standing. Offered Spring.