Use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for mapping, and accuracy assessment of the orthophoto with and without using GCPs: A case study in Nepal

Abstract

The conventional methods of aerial photogrammetry using helicopters or airplanes are costly and challenging for small areas. For a developing country like Nepal, where Geospatial data is in high demand, a new competitive approach is essential for rapid spatial data acquisition at a low cost and time. This article demonstrates how this can be achieved using one of the evolving remote sensing technology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The application of UAVs is rapidly increasing in Nepal due to its capability of acquiring images remotely and the potential to provide data with a very high spatial and temporal resolution even in inaccessible terrain at a relatively low cost. Here, the performance of UAVs for topographical surveying and mapping has been investigated, along with the comparison between orthophoto obtained using GCPs, and without using GCPs. For this study, a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced quadcopter collected about 700 images at a flying height of 50 m above the settlement area. An orthophoto of 3.78 cm GSD covering 40.83 hectares of area was produced. With appropriate ground control points, an absolute positional accuracy of 0.035 m RMSE was achieved, whereas the output obtained without using GCPs was satisfactory. This study also highlights the use of a High-Performance Computing (HPC) system and open-source platform for rapid image processing.