Adam Klaptocz
Using
mapping drones
for disaster
prevention & response
Co-founder and President Head of Hardware and
Mechanical Engineering

How does
a mapping
drone work?

01 Flight planning
(via simple automated software)

02 Hand launched

03 Autonomous flight & image capture

04 Automated image processing
(producing 2D orthomosaics, digital elevation models and even…)

… full 3D point clouds

3 case studies…
How can
drone-sourced data
and maps help?

Typhoon Yolanda (Leyte, Philippines) 11.8.2013
01
Post-disaster needs
assessment &
relocation planning

Up to
80%
of homes
damaged

Countless
livelihoods
destroyed

Mapping
drones
used to give
an up-to-date,
accurate
picture of
people’s
communities

Involving
them
directly
in the
assessment
effort

Producing
highly detailed
maps for
community
leaders
to start using
the very next
day

An example high-resolution orthomosaic

Highly
accurate,
up-to-date
data on which
to base
important
planning
decisions…

Allowing
leaders like
the Mayor of
Tacloban to
understand
the effects
of the disaster
on the
worst hit,
often informal,
communities

The Mayor’s previous map, showing plots due to be developed by a wide range of donors

The orthomosaic
(hosted online)
the Mayor can now
use to coordinate
relocation efforts

Fukushima tsunami & nuclear disaster 3.11.2011
02
Reconstruction
monitoring

Removing
radioactive
topsoil in
Iidate village
(N.W. of
Fukushima)

Tsunami
damage in
Hisanohama

3years on…
many towns
like Tomioka
have yet to be
Reconstructed
& satellite
imagery
is out of date

Time to launch

A drone-sourced high-resolution orthomosaic
(take-off point in blue)
Used by local gov. for
town planning &
reconstruction tracking

Port-au-Prince, Haiti April 2013
03
Preparation and
prevention

A dry
riverbed in
Port-au-Prince,
home to a
popular
market that is
susceptible to
flooding

3 drones
were used
to map 45 km2

This knowledge was used to mitigate flood
damage…

… by identifying where to place measures to
slow erosion and increase water absorption

Drone-sourced geospatial data
is already here
• Cost-effective
• Immediate
• High-resolution
• 3D
How will you use it?