Author(s): Adrian Wing-Keung Law; Ha Linh Trinh; Hieu Trung Kieu; Hui Ying Pak; Dawn Sok Cheng Pang

Linked Author(s): HA LINH Trinh, Hieu Trung Kieu, Hui Ying Pak

Keywords: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); Drones; Coastal hydro-monitoring; Survey planning; Remote sensing

Abstract: The monitoring of coastal hydro-environment over large spatial area has been accomplished primarily via either remote sensing with satellite imagery or in-situ point-based measurements. The former is susceptible to cloud interference and infrequent acquisition time, whereas the latter is typically costly and time-consuming for continuous acquisition. Remote sensing with portable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (pUAVs) holds great potential to bridge the gap between satellite observations and traditional point measurements. Being capable of on-demand operation, UAV-borne sensor system is an efficient tool for the coastal region for air quality sampling, topography or bathymetry mapping, and coastal water quality monitoring with high accuracy and refined spatial resolution. To conduct an UAV survey at a coastal area, a diligent planning is required in order to ensure the safety of operations and the quality of data acquisition. In this study, a new comprehensive framework is developed for the preparation of an efficient drone-based survey for the coastal hydro-environment based on recent field experience. In this framework, the UAV survey planning is classified into four main categories: (i) administration preparation; (ii) UAV airframe considerations (i.e fixed-wing fUAV and portable pUAV system); (iii) flight planning; and (iv) environmental factors. In particular, this study will detail the necessary procedures for UAV-borne spectral imaging for water quality monitoring. In addition to the practical considerations of the local UAV’s regulations, it is imperative that the environmental factors and airframe configurations shall be included in the context of UAV survey planning. Specifically for the coastal environment, these factors include weather conditions (e.g. fluctuating wind speed and cloud cover), airframe systems (i.e payload, maximal endurance), execution plan (i.e flight parameters, safety thresholds) as well as marine water conditions (e.g sunglint, tidal conditions, and moving vessels) that can significantly affect the acquisition process and the quality of raw images. The details of the new framework will be presented in the conference.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC2521711920221295

Year: 2022