Open source UAV platform development for aerial photography

Aerial photography is an important layer in Geographic Information Systems (GISs), and generally provides the base layer from which many other digital map layers are derived. Capturing these photos from a traditional full-sized airplane is a complex and expensive process. The recent development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and associated technology are providing an alternative to the traditional aerial mapping process. UAVs produced by popular commercial vendors are effective at capturing photos, but are highly expensive to acquire, and equally expensive to maintain.;This research project demonstrates the development and successful implementation of a relatively inexpensive (...