Drones: Navigating the New Frontiers of Data Collection and Management

Drones: New Frontiers of Data Collection and Management

There is an exciting emergence/surge of small drones (unmanned aerial systems or UASs) for use as data collection tools in many (and expanding) sectors. But the “whats” “whys” and most crucially “hows” of drone use in scientific communities are still being negotiated. Many institutions are incorporating drones into their data collection toolbox, and this session will explore: What data? Why drones? And most importantly:

How are drones being incorporated? Places like the Center for Transformative Environmental Monitoring Programs (CTEMPs) and the University of Vermont's Spatial Analysis Lab (SAL) have set themselves up as “UAS deployment” labs or departments, but many other researchers, universities and institutes are purchasing their own for easier use. This leads to an exciting new frontier of data management and stewardship, as drones are bringing people from many different backgrounds (different fields of research: environmental science, remote sensing, and transportation and different backgrounds altogether: academia, government, industry and hobbyist), into the “big data” fold, often without prior experience or knowledge.

Three Specific Topics to Consider:

Data Collection - Imagery, but also other instruments and types of data
Data Stewardship / Management - Examples: irregular nature of drone data: time, space, mode of collection, formats, metadata model -- plus how this data is archived and shared.
Applications - There are many applications, but this session may focus more heavily on the first two topics with the possibility to discuss applications in another session (example: Ag and Energy session)

The Session would include 3-4 Speakers. Details and Speakers are currently being finalized.

Session Schedule (proposed):
Introduction: Drones: A New Frontier in Data Collection, Management and Application -- possibly some Policy/Regulation Updates?
3-4 Speakers:

• Pairing Imagery with GHG data (Barbieri - or in Ag/Energy Session)

• “UAS” Team / Lab Models: (UVM Spatial Analysis Lab or CTEMPs)

• Designing Methodologies for Drones in Research (Messinger?)

• Open source / Software Issues/Discussion (Wyngaard)

• Data Management (Peterson?)

• Applications (Conservation Drones? Precision Ag? Use Cases from NASA or NOAA or USGS or the Department of Transportation?) 

Wrap Up / Discussion Drone Data and How it Connects with ESIP more broadly.