The use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for civil applications opens a new perspective on the field of natural hazards. The amazing diffusion of mini- and micro-RPAS is becoming a valuable alternative to traditional monitoring and surveying applications, opening new interesting viewpoints.
The acquisition of high-resolution remotely sensed data from RPAS in areas characterized by hazardous natural processes, can be a powerful instrument to quickly assess damages and effectively plan rescue missions, without any risk to the operators. The main goal of these systems, is the collection of different data (e.g. images, gas or radioactivity concentrations, etc.), and the delivery of various products (e.g. 3D-models, hazard maps, high-resolution orthoimages, etc.). The high repeatability of RPAS flights and their high cost-efficiency , allow multi-temporal analysis too. However, methodologies, best practices, advantages and limitations of these kind of applications, are currently unclear and/or poorly shared by the scientific community.
This session aims at: i) exploring the open research issues and possible applications of RPAS to the field of monitoring and management of geo-hazards; ii) collecting experiences, case studies and results; iii) defining methodologies and best practices for their effective use in geo-hazard contexts. This session concerns contributions aiming at surveying/monitoring phenomena such as landslides, floods, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Papers dealing with the integration of heterogeneous sensors (gas sensors, multi-spectral and thermal images, LiDAR, vision-based navigation systems, etc.) for innovative applications in the geo-hazard domain, are particularly encouraged.
In the following, some open issues that may be considered by the authors:
- Is direct photogrammetry one of the next important improvements (and needs) for RPAS?
- Will RPAS-based LiDAR sensors play a significant role in the coming years?
- How could RPAS data and products facilitate immediate decision-making?
- What will be the role of national regulations in RPAS-based mapping projects?
- Is the current automation in flight execution and captured data processing sufficient for real-time decision-making and rescue planning?
- Could online repositories and cloud processing aid data collection and processing for decision-making and rescue planning?