Orthophoto and DEM generation in small slope areas using low specification UAV

Even though existing methods for orthophoto production in traditional photogrammetry are effective in large areas, they are inefficient when dealing with change detection of geometric features and image production for short time periods in small areas. In recent years, the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), equipped with various sensors, is rapidly developing and has been implemented in various ways throughout the geospatial information field. The data and imagery of specific areas can be quickly acquired by UAVs at low costs and with frequent updates. Furthermore, the redundancy of geospatial information data can be minimized in the UAV-based orthophoto generation. In this paper, the orthophoto and DEM (Digital Elevation Model) are generated using a standard low-end UAV in small sloped areas which have a rather low accuracy compared to flat areas. The RMSE of the check points is σ_H = ±0.12 m on a horizontal plane and σ_V = ±0.09 m on a vertical plane. As a result, the maximum and mean RMSE are in accordance with the working rule agreement for the airborne laser scanning surveying of the NGII (National Geographic Information Institute) on a 1/500 scale digital map. Through this study, we verify the possibilities of the orthophoto generation in small slope areas using general-purpose low specification UAV rather than a high cost surveying UAV.