The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for civil applications is a new perspective in the field of natural hazard phenomena. The amazing diffusion of mini- and micro-UAVs is becoming a valuable alternative to the traditional monitoring applications, opening new interesting viewpoints.
The acquisition of high resolution remotely sensed data from UAVs in areas characterized by hazardous natural processes can be a powerful instrument to quickly assess the damages and plan effective rescues without any risk for operators. The main goal of these systems is the collection of different data such as images, 3D models, gas or radioactivity concentration useful to investigate the area and define the hazard maps. The high repeatability of UAV flight and their limited costs allows the multi-temporal analysis of the area too. However, methodologies, best practices, advantages and limitations of this kind of applications are yet unclear and/or poorly shared by the scientific community.
This session aims at exploring the possible applications UAVs in the field of monitoring and management of geo-hazards to collect experiences, case studies, and results, and define methodologies and best practices for their effective use in geo-hazard contexts. This session will concern the contributions aiming at the survey/monitoring of different phenomena such as landslides, floods, earthquakes and volcanic areas. Papers dealing with the integration of heterogeneous sensors (gas sensor, multi-spectral and thermal images, LiDAR, vision-based navigation systems, etc.) for innovative applications in the geo-hazard domain will be particularly encouraged.