2/24/2015

NationalUnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS)ProjectOffice

(http://www.usgs.gov/)
NationalUnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS)ProjectOffice

Usage:PleaserefertotheUSGSCopyrightsandCreditGuidlines(copyright.shtml)whenusinganyimagefromthissite

PointCloudGeneration
Pointclouddataderivedfrom1149imagestakewithaSonyNEX7cameraonboardaFalconUAV,from
approximately400feetabovegroundlevelovertheDebequeLandslideinMesaCounty,Colorado(Courtesyofthe
MesaCountySheriff'sDept.andFalconUAS).
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/Global_Mapper_Pt_Cloud_color_elevation.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/pt_cloud_medgeom_5milfaces_textured_subset.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/cloud_compare_landslide_v1.jpg)
Pointcloud3Ddataisderivedin
Actualred,green,blue(natural
Temporal(timeseries)analysis
theAgisoftPhotoScansoftware
color)valuesfromthe
canbeconductedusingtwo
witharainbowcolorramp
mosaickedaerialphotographs,
differentUASflightsandderived
appliedusingtheGlobalMapper
aswellas,thehorizontaland
datatocomparesubtlechanges
GISsoftwaretodefinethe
verticalgroundmeasurements,
inthelandscape.Thisshowsa
groundelevationchanges.
arederivedintheAgisoft
comparisonusingtheCloud
PhotoScansoftwaretoprecisely
Comparesoftwareshowing
displayarealworldlooktothe
possiblechangesormovements
pointcloud3Dmodel.
inthelandscapeovera6month
period.

DigitalSurfaceModels(DSM)
ADigitalSurfaceModel(DSM)isadigitalcartographic/geographicdatasetofreflectivesurfaceelevationsof
horizontalandvertical(xyz)coordinates.Thesurfaceelevationsforgroundpositionsaresampledatregularly
spacedhorizontalintervalsandcanderivedatveryhighgroundresolutionwhenusingalowaltitudeUASwith
standardcommercialofftheshelfcameras.DSM'scontainelevationsofnaturalterrainfeaturesinadditionto
vegetationandculturalfeaturessuchasbuildingsandroads.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/Global_mapper.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/Neb(images/imageProcessing/products/DEM
DSMcreatedfromamosaicof
PlatteRiverGMDEMenlarge.jpg)
Profile.jpg)
160imagestakenfrom
DSMcreatedfromamosaicof
Atransectpathprofile(shownin
approximately400feetabove
900imagestakenfrom
thepreviousimagewitha
groundlevelovertheSycan
approximately200400feet
yellowline)showing
RiverintheKlamathBasinin
abovegroundlevelwiththe
measurementswithina3foot
Oregon.
CanonSX230HScameraover
verticaldifferenceoftheUAS
thePlatteRivernearKearney,
NebraskaonboardtheTHawk
UAS.

derivedDSMacrossthePlatte
RiverusingtheGlobalMapper
software.

Orthophotography
Anorthophotoisanundistortedaerialphotographwithacompletelyuniformscalethatallowsittofunctionasa
map.Asignificantamountofgeometriccorrection,knownasorthorectification,isrequiredtobringaboutthishigh

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/UAS/products.shtml

1/6

2/24/2015

NationalUnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS)ProjectOffice
map.Asignificantamountofgeometriccorrection,knownasorthorectification,isrequiredtobringaboutthishigh
levelofuniformity.Highresolutionimagerywithgroundsampledistancesoflessthansixinchescanbederived
fromlowaltitudeUASflightsusingcommercialofftheshelfcamerasandcomputervision(structurefrommotion)
software.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/ortho_sycan_nc.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/ND (images/imageProcessing/products/ky
Anorthophotobasemapcreated
Ortho.jpg)
ortho.jpg)
fromamosaicof160images
Anorthophotobaseimage
Anenlargedareaofan
takenwiththeCanons100from
createdforconductingwaterfowl
orthophotocreatedovera
approximately400feetabove
(pelican)censuscountsonthe
Kentuckycoalminingareausing
groundlevelovertheSycan
ChaseLakeNationalWildlife
theTHawkUASandthes100
RiverintheKlamathBasinin
RefugenearTappen,North
Canoncameraat300400feet
Oregon.
Dakota.Themosaicwascreated
abovegroundlevel.
from265imagesat300feet
withtheSonyActionCam(still
frameimagecapture).

ColorInfraredOrthophotography
Auniquecapabilityforacameraconversionallowsalowcostmethodofcapturingnearinfraredimageryusefulfor
vegetationanalysisonlowaltitudeUASaerialflights.Thecameraconversioninvolvesutilizinganotchfilterthat
blocksthelowtomidredlightrange.Theresultisacamerasensorthatdetectsthered(nearinfrarededgeofthe
electromagneticspectrum)centeredaround690720nmnearinfrared,green,andblue.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/ortho_Sycan_cir.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/NV (images/imageProcessing/products/Topcok_cir_IMG_0579.jpg)
rubylakecir.jpg)
Acolorinfraredorthophotobase
mapcreatedfromamosaicof
160imagestakenwiththe
Canons100colorinfrared
convertedcamerafrom
approximately400feetabove
groundlevelovertheSycan
RiverintheKlamathBasinin
Oregon.

Acolorinfraredorthophotobase
mapimagetakenwiththeCanon
SX230HScamerafrom
approximately200feetabove
groundlevelonboardtheT
HawkUASovertheRubyLake
NationalWildlifeRefuge,
Nevada.

Acolorinfraredimagetaken
withtheCanons100color
infraredconvertedcamerafrom
approximately400feetabove
groundlevelovertheTopock
MarshnearLakeHavasu
NationalWildlifeRefugein
Arizona.

KeyholeMarkupLanguage(KML)
KeyholeMarkupLanguage(KML)isanXMLnotationforexpressinggeographicannotationandvisualizationwithin
Internetbased,twodimensionalmapsandthreedimensionalEarthbrowsers.TheKMLfilespecifiesasetof
features(placemarks,images,polygons,3Dmodels,textualdescriptions,etc.)fordisplayinGoogleEarthorany
othergeospatialsoftwareimplementingtheKMLencoding.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/UAS/products.shtml

2/6

2/24/2015

NationalUnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS)ProjectOffice

(images/imageProcessing/products/3d_CIR_kml.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/Mill(images/imageProcessing/products/KY
Acolorinfraredorthophotobase
LakeKMZnorth.jpg)
mines.jpg)
mapovertheSycanRiverinthe
Anaturalcolororthophotoimage
Adigitalelevationmodelcreated
KlamathBasininOregon
capturedfromapproximately
from323imagestakenfromthe
convertedtoaGoogleEarthKML
300feetfromaRavenUASwith
Canons100camerafrom200
fileformat.
aGoProcamerawithstillframe
300feetabovegroundlevelon
imagecapturesetting,
boardtheTHawkUASovera
processedintoaorthomosaic
coalminingareaofEastern
withtheAgiSoftPhotoScan
Kentucky,andconvertedtothe
softwareandconvertedtothe
GoogleEarthKMLfileformat.
GoogleEarthKMLfileformat.

3DModeling
3Dmodelingistheprocessofdevelopingamathematicalrepresentationofanythreedimensionalsurfaceofan
objectviaspecializedsoftware.Theproductiscalleda3Dmodel.Itcanbedisplayedasatwodimensionalimage
throughaprocesscalled3Drendering.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/3D_on_white.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/3d (images/imageProcessing/products/WV
Anaturalcolororthophotobase
Carrizoplain.jpg)
Headwall.jpg)
mapdrapedoveraderived
digitalelevationmodeloverthe
SycanRiverintheKlamath
BasininOregon.

Anaturalcolororthophoto
drapedoveraderiveddigital
elevationmodelintheCarrizo
PlainsareaofCalifornia.The3D
modeliscreatedfrom1534
imagescollectedfromtheRaven
UASatapprox.300feetabove
thegroundlevelwiththeSony
ActionCam(stillframecapture
mode).

Anaturalcolorobliquemodelof
aheadwallderivedfromthe
Canons100cameraonboardthe
THawkUASfromapproximately
200300feetinthecoalmining
areanearCharleston,West
Virginia.

Contours
Acontourline(or"contour")joinspointsofequalelevation(height)aboveagivenlevel,suchasmeansealevel.A
contourmapisamapillustratedwithcontourlines,forexampleatopographicmap,whichshowsvalleysandhills,
andthesteepnessofslopes.Thecontourintervalofacontourmapisthedifferenceinelevationbetweensuccessive
contourlines.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/KY (images/imageProcessing/products/WV(images/imageProcessing/products/Neb

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/UAS/products.shtml

3/6

2/24/2015

NationalUnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS)ProjectOffice
(images/imageProcessing/products/KY (images/imageProcessing/products/WV(images/imageProcessing/products/Neb
contours.jpg)
Contoursmining.jpg)
contours.jpg)
A3footcontourshaded
A50footcontourdataset
A3footcontourdataset
elevationmapderivedfromUAS
generatedfromstereoimagery
generatedfromstereoimagery
imagerycollectedovermining
collectedfromaCanonSX
collectedfromaCanonSX
stockpilesinanEastern
230HScameracollectedovera
230HScameracollectedover
Kentuckycoalminingareausing
miningareainWestVirginia
thePlatteRivernearKearney
theCanons100cameraonboard
usingtheTHawkUASfrom
NebraskausingtheTHawkUAS
theTHawkUASfrom
approximately400feetabove
fromapproximately100200
approximately200300feet
thegroundlevel.
feetabovethegroundlevel.
abovethegroundlevel.

VolumetricMeasurement
Therearemanywaystocalculatevolumetricmeasurementsovertheearthsurfaceandforlandformmanagement
andvariousproductionprocesses.Thesehavetraditionallybeenaccomplishedthroughmanualonsite
measurements,surveyingtechniques,andthroughphotogrammetricmethods.TheUASofferanothermeansof
acquiringlowcost,andveryhighresolutionaerialimageryinordertoderiveveryaccuratevolumetric
measurements.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/Volume_cropped.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/Volume2.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/Hillshade
Anelevationmodelderived
Accuratevolumetriccalculations
Mine.jpg)
usingtheAgisoftPhotoScan
canbederivedandgraphically
Volumetriccalculationsbegin
softwareisshownusing350
displayedusingtheGlobal
withgoodelevationmodelsthat
imagescollectedovermining
Mappingsoftwareandthe
canbederivedfromlowaltitude
stockpilesinanEastern
elevationmodelscreatedover
UASflights.Thisisagraphic
Kentuckycoalminingareausing
theEasternKentuckycoalmine
displayoftheminingarea
theCanons100cameraonboard
stockpiles.
locatednearGrandJunction,
theTHawkUASfrom
ColoradousingtheFalconUAV
approximately200300feet
andimagerycollectedfrom
abovegroundlevel.
approx.300400feetabove
groundlevel(imagescourtesyof
FalconUAVandtheMesaCounty
ColoradoSheriff'sDepartment).

NormalizedDifferenceVegetationIndex(NDVI)
Auniquecapabilityforacameraconversionallowsalowcostmethodofcapturingnearinfraredimageryusefulfor
vegetationanalysisonlowaltitudeUASaerialflights.Theconversioninvolvesutilizinganotchfilterthatblocksthe
lowtomidredlightrange.Theresultisasensorthatdetectsthered(nearinfrarededgeoftheelectromagnetic
spectrum)centeredaround710740nm,green,andblue.NDVIcalculationsthatcreateastandardizedindex
utilizingtheamountofinfraredlightthatisreflectedfromaplantandhasastrongcorrelationtothehealthofthe
plantsimaged.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/UAS/products.shtml

4/6

2/24/2015

NationalUnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS)ProjectOffice

(images/imageProcessing/products/wv
lower.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/Golf1.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/ndvi.jpg)
AnNDVIderivedimagefroma
mosaicofthenearinfrared
aerialphotographytakenfrom
approximately400feetabove
groundlevelovertheSycan
RiverintheKlamathBasinin
(images/imageProcessing/products/BWNDVI.jpg)
Oregon.Arainbowcolorrampis
appliedtotheindexedimages.
Traditionally,thebrightred
displayofthecolorramp
indicateshealthyorhighly
reflectiveplantsandtheblue
colorindicatingthelower
reflectivityandpossiblyless
healthyvegetation.

(images/imageProcessing/products/Golf2.jpg)
Theoriginalnearinfraredimage
mosaicandtheNDVIimage
derivedproductcollectedwitha
CanonSX230HScamerawith
(images/imageProcessing/products/Color
thenotchfilteradded,onboard
NDVI.jpg)
theFalconUAVnearAurora,
Theoriginalnearinfraredimage
mosaicandtheNDVIimage
derivedproductfromaCanon
SX260HScamerawiththenotch
filteradded,onboardtheT
HawkUASfromaflightheight
of400feetabovetheground.

Colorado(imagescourtesyof
FalconUAV).Blueandgreen
coloredareasindicatewhere
moistureislackingorpotential
areasofgrassstressbeforethe
humaneyecandetect.

FeatureExtraction
Featureextractionisamethodofautomatingtheprocessofrecognizingpatternswithinanimageandoutliningor
classifyingthosefeaturesintoanewlydefineddataset.UASlowaltitudeflightsallowforthistobeaccomplishedon
averylargescalewiththehighresolutionimagesenablingveryaccurateidentificationoffeatures.
(Clickonimagestoenlarge)

(images/imageProcessing/products/joshua_trees.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/pelicans.jpg)
(images/imageProcessing/products/shoreline.jpg)
Thisextractiondepicts
Thisimagedepictsthevarious
TheSycanRiverstreambank,a
geographiclocationsofJoshua
geographiclocationsofnesting
tributaryoftheSpragueRiverin
TreesoftheMojaveDesert
AmericanWhitePelicansat
southernOregon,wasextracted
(JoshuaTreeNationalPark).The
ChaseLakeNationalWildlife
usingFeatureAnalystsoftware
featureextractionwas
Refuge,NorthDakota.Thered
forerosionmonitoringand
completedwithFeatureAnalyst
circlesextractedarepelican
grazingstudies.Polygonal
software.Utilizingthetree's
nests,bluepointsdepict
samplesofvariouswater
uniquespectralsignature
cormorantnests,andblack
reflectivitywereusedtoextract
minimizestheneedtomanually
circlesshowgullandsnowy
theoveralloutlineofthisstream
digitizethefeatures.
egret(nonnesting)locations.
bankfeature.
Thisextractionwascompleted
withFeatureAnalystsoftware
usingvarioustargetpattern
sizesandmaskingtechniques.
Dailyimagingoftheisland
providesadditionalinputtohelp
determineestablishednesting
locations.

(http://www.takepride.gov/)(http://usa.gov/)U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior(http://www.doi.gov/)|U.S.Geological
Survey(http://www.usgs.gov/)
URL:http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/UAS/products.shtml
PageContactInformation:WebsiteManager

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/UAS/products.shtml

5/6

2/24/2015

NationalUnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS)ProjectOffice

PageContactInformation:WebsiteManager
PageLastModified:Wednesday,11Feb201515:02:27MountainStandardTime

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/UAS/products.shtml

6/6