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Cartography for Civil Engineering Projects: Photogrammetry Supported by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

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Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Photogrammetry has been the conventional way of gathering the necessary geodetic information to design large and medium engineering projects (highways, railroads, dams, etc.). Such methodology requires expensive and highly sophisticated technical tools, such as airplanes, metric cameras, and navigation systems, and consequently, only a few companies could afford those kinds of measurement equipment. Today, advances with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are enabling an increasing number of small companies to provide photogrammetric information for engineering projects. This paper presents a way in which an orthophoto can be made with its necessary digital terrain model in a semi-automated way. The UAV used was a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with a conventional digital camera. The pixel size on the ground (GSD) was 13 cm and the flight altitude around 285 m. After the photobundle adjustment, the error in 3D space was 12 cm. Smaller errors can be achieved by lowering the flight height.

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Correspondence to J. F. Reinoso.

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Reinoso, J.F., Gonçalves, J.E., Pereira, C. et al. Cartography for Civil Engineering Projects: Photogrammetry Supported by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Iran J Sci Technol Trans Civ Eng 42, 91–96 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40996-017-0076-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40996-017-0076-x

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