THE LOW COST DRONE, a new tool for the very high resolution remote sensing

For many research questions within the geo sciences (classification of vegetation, assessment of infrastructure,soil degradation, precision farming, and many other more) there is a strong demand for information in a very high spatial resolution. Nowadays there are remote sensing scenes in a high resolution available (QUICKBIRD, IKONOS) but they are expensive and often not available.
For many research questions within Geo Sciences there is a high demand on remote sensing images in a high spatial resolution.

For example for investigation of:

* land cover and land use
* vegetation dynamics
* logging activities
* dynamics of bushfire
* erosion and soil degradation
* development of settlements
* agriculture
* process dynamics
* and many other more

In the past there had been some attempts to gain high resolution aerial images with captive ballons, kites and model airplanes or model helicopters. They have been used sometimes with good results but this systems have serious restrictions which limitate the general use of this techniques.

The drone is a unmanned remote controlled ultra light aircraft with a 5,5 hps strong 2-stroke engine and a weight of about 8 kg. It is produced by a french company. The frame of the drone hangs at a special type of parachute which serves as a wing. This allows a slow and stable flight and guarantees as well high safety in case of a failure of the motor or other systems. Five kilogram payload can be attached. The sensor carrier is gimbal-mounted. Different sensors (digital cameras, mulitspectral cameras) can be used. There is a possibility to transmit the instantaneous field of view to the operator in real time. It can be displayed on special googles or a screen (e.g. laptop). As well the actual position of the drone which is taken by a GPS is transmitted to the operator. Pictures of the mean sensor can be taken at any time by the operator via remote control.

Click here for full information.
Source: http://www.rsrg.uni-bonn.de/Projekte/hape_dronen_Webpage/HP_Drone_00_start.html