Using a small UAV for nautical ports inventory

Abstract

Reliable knowledge of marinas is crucial for the water tourism. The tourist information base of sailing ports on inland waterways should be updated every year. In addition to the basic information about the marinas, aerial photographs of the port and its surrounding are now in demand. A small four-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) can be an ideal tool for such an inventory. Unlike airplanes or fixed-wings, small and cheap unmanned aircrafts do not require much open space to start an air mission. A properly configured Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) can bring camera equipment to the location where the pictures are to be taken. The drone can hover over an object allowing the operator to take the right shots. After the mission, a UAV can automatically return and make a safe landing. Photos taken with the drone provide potential users (sailors or fishermen) with basic information about the object’s location: size, number of mooring spaces for boats, the difficulty of manoeuvring in the ports, as well as attractiveness of the adjacent area. The article presents an example of the application of DJI Phantom 4 Pro to the inventory of sailing ports on the route of the Great Masurian Lakes in Poland.