Getting started with drone mapping
If you belong to a ranger group or manage a large expanse of land, using a drone to survey and collect data in the form of photo imagery or video footage can be a low-cost and effective way to assist in caring for Country. Instead of spending time driving long distances, or bringing along Elders who are less mobile, you can use a drone to perform aerial surveys of the area.
With a drone, you can better measure and monitor changes in the various elements of the landscape you manage. Common concerns such as weed infestations and identifying feral animal damage is quantifiable with drone data. You can also see the effect of burns, and in the dry season, drones can help plan responses to fire.
Another benefit of using a drone to care for Country is that you can capture imagery that shows how land has changed over time, seeing the results of your conservation or identifying areas for improvement—ensuring healthy Country for years to come.
Although drones are fairly new technology to the land management ‘tool kit’, we have compiled all of the information you might need to get started.
Getting started with flying
If you are new to flying drones and wondering where to begin, the best way to learn is to get some training. In addition to training, here’s a short list of tips to help you get started:
Learn how to fly your drone by booking some training with us and get accredited with CASA (we can also help you with this). Do some reading with this informative and free Introductory Guide to Drone Mapping and check out this helpful guide about getting to know your drone from CASA too.
Decide what kind of imagery or video footage you want to collect and in what area/s, we outline how to do this below.
Plan your data capture, depending on weather conditions and the area. It is crucial that you check it is safe to fly there before sending your drone up. This website can help you with that.
Practice good data management by ensuring you are prepared. Set yourself up for successful data capture by making sure to:
Charge the drone
Always download your data at the end of the day
Save all photos in a folder on your PC
Use informative labels that describe the area you surveyed when saving your data to help you remember when and where the data was captured
How to decide what imagery to collect
Depending on the land that you manage, you might require certain imagery or video footage from your drone to help with specific tasks such as weed control, surveying cultural sites and measuring environmental changes over time. It is a good idea to determine the requirements of your data gathering before beginning to plan your drone flight.
For example, if you are concerned about the population of a feral animal in one area, you would need to collect imagery in that area to keep as historical reference and measure the population growth or decline year on year. Another consideration is whether the area is accessible to collect field data. If it is, you have the potential to enhance your drone data by also doing land-based surveys using data capture software, such as Fulcrum.
Video footage should be a consideration for ranger groups who are looking to promote the work they have accomplished to stakeholders, such as government departments or the community.
Applications of drone data
Once you have your drone data in the form of video or photo imagery, it's time to make it work for you. Here are some options for putting the data you have collected to use.
Orthomosaics
One of the most useful elements of using a drone for land management is that it allows you to collect your own images and data, rather than using data from other sources such as Google Earth which may be low-resolution and outdated. However the problem with collecting all of this data, is sometimes you forget where your photos were taken. To get around this, you can use orthomosaics.
An orthomosaic is a georeferenced photo which helps you to remember where exactly you gathered photos from. They are a great tool for getting a birds eye view of the landscape and keeping on file for future years to track the success of your land management actions. Another benefit of an orthomosaic is that you can measure real life distances because the photos are geometrically rectified to allow for lens distortion and other factors.
If you are new to orthomosaics, read Winyama’s blog I’ve got drone data, now what? This site also gives you a clear explanation with photos to demonstrate.
Example of an orthomosaic
Source: DroneAce
Photogrammetry
Similar to an orthomosaic, photogrammetry is another way to extract 3D measurements from 2D data (photos). Using the same set of images you gathered for the orthomosaic, you can piece together a collection that reflects the landscape in 3D; allowing you to create a 3D model which is useful for gaining a true understanding of what the landscape looks like, especially in contexts where you need to communicate with people who haven't been to the site.
Open drone map is one useful software to help you get started on with photogrammetry, it is open source so no payment is required. If you are looking for something more advanced, you can try Drone Deploy or Maps Made Easy which are both cloud-based but accessible through your internet browser.
Drone imagery from the Kimberley.
Source: Winyama
For more information
If you have more questions, or need help to get started with drone mapping you can reach out to our friends at Winyama.
Experienced with using drones for land management; Winyama can assist you in getting started with collecting and using aerial imagery. Recently, they travelled with the IMW Australia team to the Kimberley to help ranger groups with their land management using drones and Fulcrum to collect data, read more here.
Winyama is happy to answer any questions you have, contact them here.