This document summarizes Gabe Ladd's work related to unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and data processing and analysis. It discusses his experience with geospatial engineering, sensor system design, and data workflow development. It also provides examples of projects using UAS for vegetation indexing, microspectrometry, fire monitoring, and testing data products. Key applications discussed include precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and emergency response.

1. UAS&Data&Processing&and&
Analysis &&
Advanced&Concepts&Consul2ng&
Gabe&Ladd&
gabe@gabeladd.com&
sUAS&Expo&2014&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 3&

2. What&is&it&I&do?&
• Geospa2al&Engineering&&
• Geospa2al&Analysis&
• Sensor&System&Design&
• Data&System&and&Work&Flow&
– Design&
– Implementa2on&
– Automa2on&
• Why&we&fly&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 4&

3. What&is&a&UAS?&
• UAS&–&Unmanned&AircraZ&System&
• UAV&–&Unmanned&Aerial&Vehicle&
• RPV&–&Remotely&Piloted&Vehicle&
• General&Tier&Classifica2on&Concept&
– Tier&1&–&Small,&hand&launched,&foam&construc2on&
– Tier&2&–&Catapult&launch,&wheeled&launch,&
& & &unimproved&surfaces&
– Tier&3&–&Runway,&manned&aircraZ&payload&capable&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 5&

4. Where&do&they&operate&
• Satellite&
– Al2tude:&440&miles&AGL&(landsat&7)&
– Environment:&Space&
• Manned&AircraZ&
– Al2tude:&5,000&Z&–&80,000&Z&
– Environment:&Atmospheric&above&
the&boundary&layer&
• Unmanned&AircraZ&
– Al2tude:&5&Z&–&20,000&Z&
– Environment:&Atmospheric&in&the&
boundary&layer&
– Not&always&easier&to&operate&
– Great&at&following&direc2ons&
– Communica2on&is&cri2cal&to&success&
&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 6&

5. Differences&Between&Sensors&
• Satellite&
– Large&Sensors&
– Highly&Engineered&
• Power&
• Thermal&&
• Mechanical&
• Manned&AircraZ&
– Large&Format,&Medium&Format&
– Engineered&
• Power&
• Mechanical&
• Unmanned&AircraZ&
– Wide&range&of&levels&of&
engineering&and&design&
&
&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 7&

6. A&General&Project&
Plan&
Fly/Collect&
Process&
Analyze&
Need/Idea&
Disseminate&
Understanding&
or&Knowledge&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 8&

7. PRECISION)AG/VEG)INDEX)
Circa&2006&h&2008&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 9&

8. Low&Cost&sUAS&–&Circa&2006&
• Flown:&&
– MicroProb&(Color,&NIR,&IR)&
– AeroBird&(Color)&
– TwinCam&(Color,&NIR)&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 10&

9. 2005&Project&Results:&Corn&
Harvest&
Mosaic&map&of&corn&crop&on&ECPA&50&
acre&research&plot,&Sept&8th&2005&
UMES&Bozman&Corn&Harvested&Oct&2005&
Weeds)in)the)photos)
appear)as)low)yield)
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 11&

10. Colorized&GNDVI&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 12&

11. Colorized&NDVI&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 13&

12. GNDVI&Analysis&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 14&

13. NDVI&Analysis&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 15&

14. MICROSPECTROMETER)
Flown&in&2009&–&Analyzed&in&2010&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 16&

15. Flight&Data&Collec2on&System&
Schema2c&
Data&Capture&
System&
Data&Capture&
System&
Data&Capture&
System&
Zenith&
Spectrometer&
Nadir&
Spectrometer&
Pyrometers&
In#Situ#Temp&
and&Rh&
Data&Capture&
System&
Data&Capture&
System&
Vis&
Cam&
Vis&
Cam&
IMU&
GPS&
Data&
integrated&
by&
individual&
capture&
system&
2me&&
Pyranometer&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 17&

16. Flight&Path&
Spectral&data&analyzed&for&limited&
amount&of&flight&on&7/25/09&
Flight&chosen&because&of&good&
weather&condi2ons&and&data&set&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 18&

17. Flight&Profile&
Flight profile stops
due to lack of
positional data
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 19&

18. Image:&20090725_13.29.50_IMG_5454_R&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 20&

19. Zenith&Spectra:&5454_R&&&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 21&

20. Nadir&Spectra:&5454_R&&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 22&

21. Reflectance&Frac2on:&5454_R&&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 23&

22. WORK)WITH)AMERICAN)
AEROSPACE)ADVISORS)INC.)
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 24&

23. UAS&for&Fire&Applica2ons&
• Ac2ve&fire&
– Perimeter&
– Interior&hot&spot&
• Mop&up&
– Hot&spot&
– Damage&assessment&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 25&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

24. CO&Fire&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 26&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

25. CO&Fire&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 27&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

26. UAS&Test&Of&DMS&Data&
Products&
• Warren&Grove&Test&Site&
– 1&square&mile&at&2cm&Imagery&
– Ortho&Photos&
– Ortho&Mosaics&
• Texas&Test&Flight&
– Imagery&at&various&al2tudes&
– Mudflats&
– Coastline&
– Intracostal&Waterway&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 28&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

27. WGR&Data&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 29&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

28. WGR&Data&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 30&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

29. WGR&Data&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 31&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

30. WGR&Data&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 32&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

31. WGR&Data&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 33&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

32. TX&Data&
• March&2014&
• Single&flight&&
• Very&gusty&wind&
• Imagery&at&various&
al2tudes&
• Mudflats&
• Coastline&
• Intracostal&waterway&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 34&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

33. TX&Base&Area&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 35&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

34. TX&Base&Area&
• PrehLaunch&Ground&
Image&
• Flight&Data&Ortho&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 36&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

35. TX&Canal&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 37&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

36. TX&Canal&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 38&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

37. TX&Canal&–&Single&Frame&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 39&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

38. TX&Beach&–&Single&Frame&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 40&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

39. Area&Maps&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 41&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

40. Area&Maps&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 42&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

41. Area&Maps&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 43&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

42. Area&Maps&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 44&
©&2014&American&Aerospace&Advisors,&Inc.&
All&Rights&Reserved.&

43. Ques2ons?&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 45&

44. EXTRA)SLIDES)
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 46&

45. Hurricane&Response&
• PrehHurricane&
– Weather&
– Base&imagery&
• Post&Hurricane&
– Weather&
– Impact&Assessment&
– Survivor&loca2on&
– Data&link&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 47&

46. Hurricane&Response&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 48&

47. SAV&Visible&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 49&

48. SAV&UV&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 50&

49. SAV&LWIR&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 51&

50. Texas&Mud&Flats&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 52&

51. UAS&for&Animal&Counts&
• Animal&counts&
– Caple&
– Birds&
Long&Wave&Thermal& Visible&Spectrum&
sUAS&Expo&5/8&–&5/9&2014& 53&