Getting Comfy in the Drone Zone

I remember the first day I ever held a drone! I remember it vividly because it was the first day I went back out to work, after giving birth to my second child, some 7 years ago. This day was filled with so much promise and excitement. I still feel like a kid in a candy store, every time I see or touch a drone!

In a previous blog, I spoke about Drones: Four reasons to use them in GIS and Mapping. These past months, I have been very busy in using drones to conduct mapping activities. As part of the team tasked with updating imagery for the island of Montserrat the Delair UX11 – a fixed wing drone is being used to capture large areas quickly. Mr. Sardar Ali was very instrumental in ensuring that we had an excellent grasp of this drone’s operation, albeit virtually, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was definitely a steep learning curve.

Then I was introduced to quadcopters – the DJI Mini 3 and the DJI Mavic Air 2s by Dr. Kim Baldwin. It was so refreshing to meet another female in the drone industry. She was an absolute boss and I had to ensure that Dr. Kim would be back to Montserrat so I took her to Runaway Ghaut. As the legend goes “If you drink from this burn, to Montserrat you will return”. Yup, she will be back soon!

Below is one of the techniques I learnt from Kim. This definitely helps to preserve the life of the drone, as there may be areas that are not suitable to land on. Come check this:

Now I am super excited to use the DJI Phantom 4 RTK to provide accurate centimeter-level positioning and data. Here is a video my first daughter created to show the unveiling of our new baby!

The output includes digital elevation models and orthomosaic imagery which can then in turn be used by any GIS software for further analysis.

If you like the view from above, like me, you would definitely enjoy these photos, taken with the 20 mega-pixel camera of the Phantom 4 RTK.

Please complete the drone flight request form https://forms.gle/465VjXi49Yex9zh89 so that we can understand your needs and be better able to assist you. Contact LRR Geospatial Consultancy via email at [email protected]. Visit our website at www.lavernrogersryan.com.

Lavern Rogers-Ryan is a geospatial consultant specializing in disaster risk management and recovery. She is currently head of the GIS Centre within the Government of Montserrat. Learn more about geospatial services at www.lavernrogersryan.com.