DATA ACQUISITION THROUGH THE MODEL AIRCRAFT FOR MAPPING PURPOSES

Abstract. Photogrammetry and remote sensing have become indispensable in today's surveying with the emerging technologies. Some difficulties are being experienced in applications due to the incredible advances in imaging systems and increasing complexity of carrier platforms, used, in parallel with them. In this context, the most agreeable approach is the achievement of desired precision proportional with the requirements in shorter time span and the reduction of cost utilizing the most suitable mapping platform with basic systems. Towards these aims, a model aircraft, containing a non-metric camera, capturing images for mapping purposes, is considered to be employed in this study. Thus, this will lead to emerge a low cost imaging system. Within the study, besides using a high resolution digital non-metric camera and a carrier model aircraft, the previously produced maps of test field, derived from aerial photos, were used to conduct the analysis. The scope of this study is the integration of a model aircraft and a non-metric camera for mapping purposes to reduce very costly and time consuming photogrammetric map production for narrower areas. Also this will give rise to a method for the achievement of high cost aims with lower budgets. Using a model aircraft, instead of a real one, gives us an upper hand in repeating measurements anytime, desired, so that analyses can be made for the works that undergoes temporal changes. According to the aims of the study, a stereo model has been generated for the extraction of details from aerial photos, taken by the non-metric camera. Estimated results have been compared with 1/1000 scaled maps from photogrammetry and figured out their validity for using in narrower areas with high accuracy.