Capturing spatially and temporally high-resolution data is essential to underpinning geomorphic understanding, such as monitoring river dynamics or coastal erosion. If this data can be captured accurately and precisely, it will be of great benefit to research in this field.
The project will aim to develop a small UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) platform that will utilise an array of on board sensors to collate a complete dataset of a study area; including a laser scanner to assess 3D geometry alongside RGB and thermal cameras to assess spectral (visible) properties. In combination with other sensors, such as Multi-Beam Echo Sounders for water depth, complete topographic profiles of a study area will be created.
Such datasets can be used to monitor the change in an environment over time or used in modelling scenarios to predict change in to the future, allowing for better understanding of our environment. For both of these scenarios to be of use the data quality must be high in terms of accuracy and precision, making it an ideal data collection technique for both uses within environmental research and also outside of it.