Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping
Mapping plays a crucial role in urban planning by assisting authorities in making informed decisions regarding city growth and infrastructure placement. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are employed extensively for this purpose, owing to their ease of operation and advanced georeferencing capabilitie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225000181 |
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| author | Román Edén Parra-Galaviz Manuel de Jesús Pérez-Valdez Omar Llanes-Cárdenas Lennin Enrique Amador-Castro Rafael Macías-Segura Ciro de la Concepción Díaz-Hernández Alberto Gaxiola |
| author_facet | Román Edén Parra-Galaviz Manuel de Jesús Pérez-Valdez Omar Llanes-Cárdenas Lennin Enrique Amador-Castro Rafael Macías-Segura Ciro de la Concepción Díaz-Hernández Alberto Gaxiola |
| author_sort | Román Edén Parra-Galaviz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mapping plays a crucial role in urban planning by assisting authorities in making informed decisions regarding city growth and infrastructure placement. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are employed extensively for this purpose, owing to their ease of operation and advanced georeferencing capabilities facilitated by integrated cameras coupled with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) devices. However, some drawbacks have been identified, such as limited battery life, strict airspace regulations, and difficulties in mapping extensive territories due to the need for numerous takeoffs. Also, planes adapted with photogrammetric cameras are costly and bulky. On the other hand, Ultralight aircraft (ULAC) and Conventional Digital Cameras (CDC) are accessible devices. In this sense, this research explores ULACs coupled with CDCs as a low-cost alternative. A 70 km2 city was mapped using a conventional 39-megapixel camera mounted on a ULAC at 1000 m altitude to validate these tools. Digital processing yielded a ground resolution of 19.7 cm/pixel and root mean square errors (RMSE) of 32 cm in planimetry and 25 cm in altimetry.Additionally, the calibration parameters of the camera used were obtained. ULACs equipped with CDCs showed quality results and precision comparable to those obtained in surveys with photogrammetric cameras and UAV technology. This was validated as a low-cost, valuable tool for municipal authorities in small to medium-sized cities, where resources are often more limited than in larger cities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9f7c2d434ebd414eb705f508cefc0916 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2590-1982 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj-art-9f7c2d434ebd414eb705f508cefc09162025-02-09T05:01:20ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822025-01-0129101339Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mappingRomán Edén Parra-Galaviz0Manuel de Jesús Pérez-Valdez1Omar Llanes-Cárdenas2Lennin Enrique Amador-Castro3Rafael Macías-Segura4Ciro de la Concepción Díaz-Hernández5Alberto Gaxiola6Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS), Facultad de Ingeniería Mochis, Fuente de Poseidón y Prol. Ángel Flores S/N, C.P. 81223 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, MexicoUniversidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS), Facultad de Ingeniería Mochis, Fuente de Poseidón y Prol. Ángel Flores S/N, C.P. 81223 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, MexicoCentro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Sinaloa (CIIDIR-IPN-Sinaloa), Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Boulevard Juan de Dios Bátiz Paredes # 250, C.P. 81101 Guasave, Sinaloa, MexicoTecnológico Nacional de México, Campus Los Mochis, Boulevard Juan de Dios Bátiz y 20 de Noviembre, C.P. 81259 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, MexicoUniversidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS), Facultad de Ingeniería Mochis, Fuente de Poseidón y Prol. Ángel Flores S/N, C.P. 81223 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, MexicoUniversidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS), Facultad de Ingeniería Mochis, Fuente de Poseidón y Prol. Ángel Flores S/N, C.P. 81223 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, MexicoUniversidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS), Facultad de Ingeniería Mochis, Fuente de Poseidón y Prol. Ángel Flores S/N, C.P. 81223 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; Corresponding author.Mapping plays a crucial role in urban planning by assisting authorities in making informed decisions regarding city growth and infrastructure placement. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are employed extensively for this purpose, owing to their ease of operation and advanced georeferencing capabilities facilitated by integrated cameras coupled with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) devices. However, some drawbacks have been identified, such as limited battery life, strict airspace regulations, and difficulties in mapping extensive territories due to the need for numerous takeoffs. Also, planes adapted with photogrammetric cameras are costly and bulky. On the other hand, Ultralight aircraft (ULAC) and Conventional Digital Cameras (CDC) are accessible devices. In this sense, this research explores ULACs coupled with CDCs as a low-cost alternative. A 70 km2 city was mapped using a conventional 39-megapixel camera mounted on a ULAC at 1000 m altitude to validate these tools. Digital processing yielded a ground resolution of 19.7 cm/pixel and root mean square errors (RMSE) of 32 cm in planimetry and 25 cm in altimetry.Additionally, the calibration parameters of the camera used were obtained. ULACs equipped with CDCs showed quality results and precision comparable to those obtained in surveys with photogrammetric cameras and UAV technology. This was validated as a low-cost, valuable tool for municipal authorities in small to medium-sized cities, where resources are often more limited than in larger cities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225000181MappingUrban planningUltralight aircraftConventional digital camerasPhotogrammetry |
| spellingShingle | Román Edén Parra-Galaviz Manuel de Jesús Pérez-Valdez Omar Llanes-Cárdenas Lennin Enrique Amador-Castro Rafael Macías-Segura Ciro de la Concepción Díaz-Hernández Alberto Gaxiola Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives Mapping Urban planning Ultralight aircraft Conventional digital cameras Photogrammetry |
| title | Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping |
| title_full | Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping |
| title_fullStr | Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping |
| title_short | Ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping |
| title_sort | ultralight aircraft and conventional digital cameras as an alternative for urban mapping |
| topic | Mapping Urban planning Ultralight aircraft Conventional digital cameras Photogrammetry |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225000181 |
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