Abstract
Geography has been fundamentally altered by the development, proliferation, and maturation of small unoccupied aerial systems (sUAS). sUAS range from ultra-small, low-cost systems that provide simple still imagery used for qualitative analysis to expensive, technologically advanced systems that provide data with high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions. This chapter introduces and provides a brief background on how the sUAS revolution has broadly affected Geography. Background topics discussed include how sUAS fit among allied technologies like satellite-based remote sensing; the power of sUAS to increase spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution of imagery and image-derived data; the pros and cons of sUAS methodology and tools; and legal and practical considerations for sUAS operation. Book chapter contributions are then examined, before the future outlook of sUAS in Geography and allied disciplines is discussed. This chapter emphasizes that sUAS have brought on an era of “personal” or “on-demand” remote sensing, which has been and will continue to be critical for scholarly and research activities in Geography.
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Lewis, Q., Konsoer, K., Leitner, M. (2022). How sUAS Has Pushed Forward On-Demand Low Altitude Remote Sensing in Geography. In: Konsoer, K., Leitner, M., Lewis, Q. (eds) sUAS Applications in Geography . Geotechnologies and the Environment, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01976-0_1
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