Journal of Remote Sensing & GIS

Volunteered big raster data collected through unmanned aerial systems for disaster preparedness and response

World Congress on GIS & Remote Sensing

August 01-03, 2016 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Britta Ricker

University of Washington, Tacoma, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Remote Sensing & GIS

Abstract:

As citizens are quickly embracing emerging mobile technologies, they are shifting spatial data collection practices, performances and knowledge associated with geographic information systems (GIS). Volunteered geographic information (VGI) is presenting the ability to collect geographic information from a heterogeneous spatially distributed population and has been revolutionary for the field of geographic information science. To date, VGI has largely been contributed in the form of vector data (points, lines and polygons), often attached with relevant attributes and multimedia. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are becoming increasingly accessible to the public due to their diminishing price and improved ease of use, these devices are presenting an opportunity for UAV enthusiast to contribute VGI in the form of raster data. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) include the use of UAVs, hardware (i.e. GPS, camera) and software (i.e. autopilot) required to run and process the data captured from sensors mounted to the vehicles themselves. Disaster response efforts have long recognized the utility of UAS and GIS for environmental monitoring. Providing a platform for UAV enthusiast to contribute and process imagery could increase the spatial and temporal resolution of imagery already available. Aerial imagery can be used for measuring acute or gradual changes, which inform both disaster planning and response. Here, I present a system aimed to support processing of volunteered raster data before a disaster, that can be used to inform public and governmental decision making by presenting visualizations of complex environmental processes over time at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Biography :

Email: bricker0@uw.edu