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Drones
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Unconventional Drone-Based Surveying 2nd Edition
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Unconventional Drone-Based Surveying 2nd Edition

A special issue of Drones (ISSN 2504-446X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 5670

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Arianna Pesci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat, 6/2 Creti 12, I-40127 Bologna, Italy
Interests: terrestrial laser scanner; remote sensing; structure from motion photogrammetry; crustal deformation; geodesy ground deformation; time series; volcanology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giordano Teza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat, 6/2 Creti 12, I-40127 Bologna, Italy
Interests: remote sensing (terrestrial laser scanning and structure-from-motion) and application to landslide monitoring; cultural heritage; preservation and medical imaging; 3D modeling; image processing; thermal imaging; GNSS and applications to crustal kinematics; deep learning and applications to time series analysis and medical imaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Massimo Fabris

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering-ICEA, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy
Interests: geomatics; digital aerial photogrammetry; digital surface models; deformations monitoring; 3D surveys; land subsidence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The success of the MDPI Drones Special Issue “Unconventional Drone-Based Surveying” led us to propose a new Special Issue entitled “Unconventional Drone-Based Surveying 2nd Edition”, for which we are pleased to invite you to submit original contributions.

First, we must specify that in this Special Issue, the term "drone" refers to any unmanned object that can be used for surveying, thus encompassing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) (whether a boat or even a terrestrial vehicle), Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), and even an element of a system in which two or more of these types of drones, or even of drones different types (e.g., UAVs and USVs), jointly operate.

This Special Issue aims to collect papers addressing all kinds of problems encountered in unconventional drone-based surveying. Given that any type of sensor can be considered, with no limits other than the condition that the operations must be performed safely (including, but not limited to, cameras for Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry (SfM); thermal infrared sensors; multispectral or hyperspectral sensors; compact LiDAR; microphones; and sonars), papers may adopt the aims of

  • providing new methods for data analysis, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses;
  • proposing new applications;
  • proposing new configurations of drones or systems of drones;
  • proposing new guidance systems and/or survey planning which, in compliance with current regulations, confer greater (or also total) autonomy onto the drone;
  • addressing issues related to drone behavior in challenging environments and/or challenging weather conditions;
  • studying the problems inherent in the use of swarms of drones (not necessarily of the same type) to perform a given mission or problems inherent in the use of one or more drones in environments where there are other drones operated by third parties or even completely autonomous drones;
  • other original miscellaneous approaches.

As a rule, only papers concerning the successful application of a technique or methodology in its final version will be published. However, papers devoted to problem analysis that are of interest to researchers and practitioners are also welcome. Contributions describing new methods for fast and low-cost observation and monitoring are particularly encouraged.

Papers concerning any type of new application of interest are welcome under the condition that the research is carried out in an unconventional manner. The areas of interest for these applications can vary from architecture to environmental, atmospheric, volcanic, geological, seismological, civil engineering and agricultural fields. Papers on laboratory experiments will also be considered if they fit the criteria listed above.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Remote Sensing.

Dr. Arianna Pesci
Dr. Giordano Teza
Dr. Massimo Fabris
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Drones is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • UAV/USV/UUV
  • structure-from-motion
  • LiDAR
  • thermal imaging
  • multispectral/hyperspectral imaging
  • acoustic sensors and sonars
  • autonomous drones for surveying
  • swarms of drones
  • operation in hard environments

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 31110 KiB  
Article
A Drone-Based Structure from Motion Survey, Topographic Data, and Terrestrial Laser Scanning Acquisitions for the Floodgate Gaps Deformation Monitoring of the Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico System (Venice, Italy)
by Massimo Fabris and Michele Monego
Drones 2024, 8(10), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones8100598 - 18 Oct 2024
Viewed by 658
Abstract
The structural deformation monitoring of civil infrastructures can be performed using different geomatic techniques: topographic measurements with total stations and levels, TLS (terrestrial laser scanning) acquisitions, and drone-based SfM (structure from motion) photogrammetric surveys, among others, can be applied. In this work, these [...] Read more.
The structural deformation monitoring of civil infrastructures can be performed using different geomatic techniques: topographic measurements with total stations and levels, TLS (terrestrial laser scanning) acquisitions, and drone-based SfM (structure from motion) photogrammetric surveys, among others, can be applied. In this work, these techniques are used for the floodgate gaps and the rubber joints deformation monitoring of the MOSE system (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), the civil infrastructure that protects Venice and its lagoon (Italy) from high waters. Since the floodgates are submerged most of the time and cannot be directly measured and monitored using high-precision data, topographic surveys were performed in accessible underwater tunnels. In this way, after the calculation of the coordinates of some reference points, the coordinates of the floodgate corners were estimated knowing the geometric characteristics of the system. A specific activity required the acquisition of the TLS scans of the stairwells in the shoulder structures of the Treporti barrier because many of the reference points fixed on the structures were lost during the placement of elements on the seabed. They were replaced with new points whose coordinates in the project/as-built reference system were calculated by applying the Procrustean algorithm by means of homologous points. The procedure allowed the estimation of the transformation parameters with maximum residuals of less than 2.5 cm, a value in agreement with the approximation of the real concrete structures built. Using the obtained parameters, the coordinates of the new reference points were calculated in the project reference system. Once the 3D orientation of all caissons in the barrier was reconstructed, the widths of the floodgate gaps were estimated and compared with the designed values and over time. The obtained values were validated in the Treporti barrier using a drone-based SfM photogrammetric survey of the eight raised floodgates, starting from the east shoulder caisson. The comparison between floodgate gaps estimated from topographic and TLS surveys, and those obtained from measurements on the 3D photogrammetric model, provided a maximum difference of 1.6 cm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unconventional Drone-Based Surveying 2nd Edition)
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21 pages, 7548 KiB  
Article
Photogrammetric Measurement of Grassland Fire Spread: Techniques and Challenges with Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
by Marián Marčiš, Marek Fraštia, Tibor Lieskovský, Martin Ambroz and Karol Mikula
Drones 2024, 8(7), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones8070282 - 22 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1176
Abstract
The spread of natural fires is a complex issue, as its mathematical modeling needs to consider many parameters. Therefore, the results of such modeling always need to be validated by comparison with experimental measurements under real-world conditions. Remote sensing with the support of [...] Read more.
The spread of natural fires is a complex issue, as its mathematical modeling needs to consider many parameters. Therefore, the results of such modeling always need to be validated by comparison with experimental measurements under real-world conditions. Remote sensing with the support of satellite or aerial sensors has long been used for this purpose. In this article, we focused on data collection with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which was used both for creating a digital surface model and for dynamic monitoring of the spread of controlled grassland fires in the visible spectrum. We subsequently tested the impact of various processing settings on the accuracy of the digital elevation model (DEM) and orthophotos, which are commonly used as a basis for analyzing fire spread. For the DEM generated from images taken during the final flight after the fire, deviations did not exceed 0.1 m compared to the reference model from LiDAR. Scale errors in the model with only approximal WGS84 exterior orientation parameters did not exceed a relative accuracy of 1:500, and possible deformations of the DEM up to 0.5 m in height had a minimal impact on determining the rate of fire spread, even with oblique images taken at an angle of 45°. The results of the experiments highlight the advantages of using low-cost SfM photogrammetry and provide an overview of potential issues encountered in measuring and performing photogrammetric processing of fire spread. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unconventional Drone-Based Surveying 2nd Edition)
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24 pages, 14175 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study of Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with Spectral Sensors for Real-Time Turbidity Monitoring in the Coastal Environment
by Ha Linh Trinh, Hieu Trung Kieu, Hui Ying Pak, Dawn Sok Cheng Pang, Wai Wah Tham, Eugene Khoo and Adrian Wing-Keung Law
Drones 2024, 8(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones8020052 - 5 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2875
Abstract
Complex coastal environments pose unique logistical challenges when deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for real-time image acquisition during monitoring operations of marine water quality. One of the key challenges is the difficulty in synchronizing the images acquired by UAV spectral sensors and ground-truth [...] Read more.
Complex coastal environments pose unique logistical challenges when deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for real-time image acquisition during monitoring operations of marine water quality. One of the key challenges is the difficulty in synchronizing the images acquired by UAV spectral sensors and ground-truth in situ water quality measurements for calibration, due to a typical time delay between these two modes of data acquisition. This study investigates the logistics for the concurrent deployment of the UAV-borne spectral sensors and a sampling vessel for water quality measurements and the effects on the turbidity predictions due to the time delay between these two operations. The results show that minimizing the time delay can significantly enhance the efficiency of data acquisition and consequently improve the calibration process. In particular, the outcomes highlight notable improvements in the model’s predictive accuracy for turbidity distribution derived from UAV-borne spectral images. Furthermore, a comparative analysis based on a pilot study is conducted between two multirotor UAV configurations: the DJI M600 Pro with a hyperspectral camera and the DJI M300 RTK with a multispectral camera. The performance evaluation includes the deployment complexity, image processing productivity, and sensitivity to environmental noises. The DJI M300 RTK, equipped with a multispectral camera, is found to offer higher cost-effectiveness, faster setup times, and better endurance while yielding good image quality at the same time. It is therefore a more compelling choice for widespread industry adoption. Overall, the results from this study contribute to advancement in the deployment of UAVs for marine water quality monitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unconventional Drone-Based Surveying 2nd Edition)
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