Innovative Tools For Planning, Analysis, and Management of UAV Photogrammetric Surveys

The Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) is widely used in the photogrammetric surveys both for structures and small areas. The geomatics approach, for the several applications where the 3D modeling is required, focuses the attention on the metric quality of the final products of the survey. As widely known, the quality of results derives from the quality of images acquisition phase, which needs an accurate planning phase. Actually, the planning phase is typically managed using dedicated tools, adapted from the traditional aerial-photogrammetric flight plan. Unfortunately, UAV flight has features completely different from the traditional one, hence the use of UAV for photogrammetric applications today requires a growth in the planning knowledge. The basic idea of the present research work is to provide a tool for planning a photogrammetric survey with UAV, called \u201cUnmanned Photogrammetric Office\u201d (U.Ph.O.), that considers the morphology of the object, the effective visibility of its surface, in the respect of the metric precisions. The usual planning tools require the classical parameters of a photogrammetric planning: flight distance from the surface, images overlaps and geometric parameters of the camera. The created \u201cOffice suite\u201d U.Ph.O. allows a realistic planning of a photogrammetric survey, requiring additionally an approximate knowledge of the Digital Surface Model (DSM) and the attitude parameters, potentially changing along the route. The planning products will be the realistic overlapping of the images, the Ground Sample Distance (GSD) and the precision on each pixel taking into account the real geometry. The different tested procedures, the solution proposed to estimates the realistic precisions in the particular case of UAV surveys and the obtained results, are described in this thesis work, with an overview on the recently development of UAV surveys and technologies related to them

Riconoscimento di specie arboree mediante classificazione di immagini multispettrali e multitemporali ad altissima risoluzione

Da tempo impiegati nell'agricoltura di precisione, i rilievi di prossimità con UAS cominciano a esser eseguiti anche per applicazioni forestali e ambientali. Il rilievo da UAV con sensori ottici, infatti, consente di acquisire immagini ad altissima risoluzione (GSD dell'ordine di cm), che possono essere opportunamente usate per la classificazione e la distinzione di specie vegetali. Nell'ambito di un progetto di ricerca di Dottorato in Geomatica, è stato effettuato un esperimento di classificazione mediante algoritmi ampiamente utilizzati in telerilevamento, a partire da immagini aeree di prossimità acquisite su un vivaio di piante. Tale area è stata scelta come "poligono test" per la presenza di molte varietà di alberi, raggruppati per specie. Un rilievo multispettrale è stato effettuato durante il periodo di maggior copertura fogliare con esacottero Mikrokopter del Politecnico di Milano (Dip.di Ing. Civile e Ambientale) e camere Nikon 1 J1 e Tetracam ADCLite. I due blocchi di immagini, a colori e a falso colore, sono stati orientati simultaneamente; dal blocco RGB è stato poi ottenuto il modello di superficie e, su questo, sono state generate le due ortofoto (RGB e NIR-RG). Dai canali NIR e Red di quest'ultima, è stato infine calcolato l'indice di vegetazione NDVI. Il rilievo è stato ripetuto anche in autunno per rilevare nuove informazioni spettrali, molto variabili da una specie all'altra. L'ortofoto RGB autunnale è stata creata usando il medesimo DSM estivo. Sulla base della verità al suolo raccolta in campo, è stata effettuata una classificazione supervisionata con algoritmo Max Likelihood su un layer stack di sette bande. Sebbene la copertura fogliare autunnale fosse ridotta, tale classificazione è caratterizzata da un incremento dell'accuratezza totale del 13% rispetto a quella della classificazione effettuata sulle sole bande estive (RGB e NDVI). Il medesimo algoritmo è stato infine impiegato su differenti combinazioni di canali originali e derivati, tra cui un indice di variazione temporale e la trasformazione allo spazio IHS

Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy for nanostructured thin film density evaluation

In this paper, we report on two fast and non-destructive methods for nanostructured film density evaluation based on a combination of energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy for areal density measurement and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for thickness evaluation. These techniques have been applied to films with density ranging from the density of a solid down to a few mg cm(-3), with different compositions and morphologies. The high resolution of an electron microprobe has been exploited to characterize non-uniform films both at the macroscopic scale and at the microscopic scale

AERIAL IMAGES FROM AN UAV SYSTEM: 3D MODELING AND TREE SPECIES CLASSIFICATION IN A PARK AREA

The use of aerial imagery acquired by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is scheduled within the FoGLIE project (Fruition of Goods Landscape in Interactive Environment): it starts from the need to enhance the natural, artistic and cultural heritage, to produce a better usability of it by employing audiovisual movable systems of 3D reconstruction and to improve monitoring procedures, by using new media for integrating the fruition phase with the preservation ones. The pilot project focus on a test area, Parco Adda Nord, which encloses various goods' types (small buildings, agricultural fields and different tree species and bushes). Multispectral high resolution images were taken by two digital compact cameras: a Pentax Optio A40 for RGB photos and a Sigma DP1 modified to acquire the NIR band. Then, some tests were performed in order to analyze the UAV images' quality with both photogrammetric and photo-interpretation purposes, to validate the vector-sensor system, the image block geometry and to study the feasibility of tree species classification. Many pre-signalized Control Points were surveyed through GPS to allow accuracy analysis. Aerial Triangulations (ATs) were carried out with photogrammetric commercial software, Leica Photogrammetry Suite (LPS) and PhotoModeler, with manual or automatic selection of Tie Points, to pick out pros and cons of each package in managing non conventional aerial imagery as well as the differences in the modeling approach. Further analysis were done on the differences between the EO parameters and the corresponding data coming from the on board UAV navigation system

LDL receptor expression on T lymphocytes in old patients with Down syndrome

BACKGROUND: In Down syndrome patients several metabolic abnormalities have been reported, some involving the lipid metabolism. The level of LDL in plasma is the major determinant of the risk of vascular disease. There appear to be no studies on the LDL receptor in Down syndrome patients. METHODS: Flow cytometric methods for measuring the LDL receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) can identify patients with hypercholesterolemia. We applied this method in 19 old patients with Down syndrome and 23 healthy controls. RESULTS: Down syndrome patients had high levels of triglycerides and low levels of HDL, and high levels of CRP. We also found a down-regulation of LDL receptor expression. CONCLUSIONS: Down syndrome patients show no increase in the frequency of cardiovascular disease. The low incidence in cardiovascular disease despite the low level of HDL, high levels of CRP and reduction of LDL receptor expression lead to the conclusion that either these are not risk factors in these patients or that other risks factors – not yet identified – are considerably lower

Knowledge and practices of mothers of premature newborns in the mainteining of breastfeeding

Objective: identify the knowledge and practices of premature infant's mothers front of maintaining breastfeeding. Method: qualitative study, with exploratory design. Developed research in a Human Milk Bank, with ten mothers during hospitalization of their children. To collect data, were carried out face to face interviews with semi-structured questionnaire. The responses were analyzed, using the Content Analysis Technique. Obtained of Certificate Presentation Considerations for Ethics, the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, under nº 15743513.3.0000.0020. Results: the speeches, two categories emerged: The consistency of the knowledge presented by mothers; Impact of guidance on the practice of milking breast milk. Conclusion: even with little consistency in knowledge, we observed positive impact of career guidance practices for milking breast milk

Utilizzo di immagini acquisite da UAV per la documentazione e una miglior fruizione di beni culturali e paesaggistici

L'uso di immagini aeree acquisite con velivoli senza pilota, i cosiddetti UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), si sta sempre più diffondendo per scopi sia descrittivi sia geometrici. Ne è previsto, ad esempio, l'impiego all'interno del progetto FoGLIE (Fruition of Goods Landscape in Interactive Environment) recentemente finanziato dalla Regione Lombardia. Esso nasce dalla necessità di valorizzare il patrimonio culturale e paesaggistico presente sul territorio lombardo, allo scopo di proporne una maggiore fruibilità, tramite sistemi audio-visuali con i quali rappresentare i beni nel loro contesto cartografico di riferimento. Le finalità principali del progetto sono: - la creazione di un sistema di guida multimediale innovativo per la fruizione di beni culturali e paesaggistici anche di zone ad oggi inaccessibili; - il superamento di strutture ingombranti ed invasive quali totem o postazioni di interfaccia, di grande impatto sull’ambiente architettonico e naturale, sostituite da sistemi mobili; - l'integrazione di fruibilità e monitoraggio attivo del bene e del territorio, grazie a segnalazioni “garantite” che gli utenti potranno inviare dal dispositivo. FoGLIE, che ha avuto inizio nell'Ottobre del 2010 e sarà concluso a fine 2012, vede coinvolte alcune realtà imprenditoriali lombarde e il DIIAR del Politecnico di Milano, in qualità di componente scientifica e di consulenza tecnica in ambito cartografico e fotogrammetrico. Durante lo svolgimento del progetto si è presa in analisi una area test, individuata nel Parco Adda Nord, che racchiude al suo interno diverse categorie di beni paesaggistici e culturali (di valore architettonico e tecnologico) e paesaggistici. L’intento è di mettere a punto una metodologia per il rilievo, la documentazione e la divulgazione dei risultati che possa essere esportata ad altri casi simili. Nel presente lavoro si dà spazio all’organizzazione della ricerca, ai risultati ottenuti e alle raccomandazioni alle quali si è giunti al fine di utilizzare le nuove tecnologie nell’ambito della fruizione dei beni culturali e paesaggistici, con particolare attenzione alle riprese con UAV, alla realizzazione di modelli virtuali delle emergenze culturali del Parco, opportunamente georeferenziati e inseriti in ortofotocarta

On the spatial spread of the Rice Water Weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Erirhinidae), in Italy

A five year study has been made to establish the spread of the rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus (Coleoptera: Erirhinidae) in Northern Italy. Data obtained with GPS from 2005 throughout 2009 were first georeferenced with SW ArcGis® 9.2, then overlapped and compared to the map of the European environmental landscape based on the interpretation of satellite images (CORINE Land Cover map) and to the hydrographic chart CT10 (Technical Regional map 10000). The analysis of the radial rate of spread per year indicates a deceleration in the expansion from 10.864 ± 6.801 km/year in 2005 to 5.318 ± 1.401 km/year in 2009. In five years the weevil has expanded its distribution in nearly all rice paddies in Lombardy and Piedmont, over an area of about 200,000 ha, which correspond to 86% of the total Italian rice area. Its expansion is thought to follow a type of stratified dispersal, due both to insect adult active dispersal and to accidental movements caused by human transportation

Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems for multispectral survey and tree classification: a test in a park area of northern Italy

In the frame of project FoGLIE (Fruition of Goods and Landscape in Interactive Environment), UAS were used to survey a park area in its less accessible zones, for scenic and stereoscopic videos, 3D modeling and vegetation monitoring. For this last application, specifically, through the acquisition of very high resolution images taken with two UAS-borne compact cameras (RGB and NIR), a DSM of a small vegetated area and the corresponding orthoimages were produced and co-registered. Planimetric and height accuracies in block adjustments and orthophotos are in the range of 0.10 m horizontally and 0.15 m in height. Then, after the derivation of synthetic channels, both unsupervised classification and supervised one were performed in order to test the algorithms' ability to distinguish between different bushes and trees species: some of them were correctly classified by the latter method but misclassifications still remain. The overall accuracy for the unsupervised classification is about 50% while the supervised one yields an overall accuracy around 80%

Improving tree species classification using UAS multispectral images and texture measures

This paper focuses on the use of ultra-high resolution Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) imagery to classify tree species. Multispectral surveys were performed on a plant nursery to produce Digital Surface Models and orthophotos with ground sample distance equal to 0.01 m. Different combinations of multispectral images, multi-temporal data, and texture measures were employed to improve classification. The Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix was used to generate texture images with different window sizes and procedures for optimal texture features and window size selection were investigated. The study evaluates how methods used in Remote Sensing could be applied on ultra-high resolution UAS images. Combinations of original and derived bands were classified with the Maximum Likelihood algorithm, and Principal Component Analysis was conducted in order to understand the correlation between bands. The study proves that the use of texture features produces a significant increase of the Overall Accuracy, whose values change from 58% to 78% or 87%, depending on components reduction. The improvement given by the introduction of texture measures is highlighted even in terms of User's and Producer's Accuracy. For classification purposes, the inclusion of texture can compensate for difficulties of performing multi-temporal surveys