The Terraluma project
The TerraLuma research project at the University of Tasmania aims to develop novel tools and algorithms for environmental remote sensing applications and aerial surveys using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Up-to-date and accurate spatial data are of crucial importance for sustainable management of our ecosystems. UAS offer an exciting and novel opportunity to map the environment in greater detail than ever before. We are a university team of a senior academic, a postdoc, five PhD students, and two technical officers and we specialise in UAS sensor integration and image processing for earth observation applications. We have been working with UAS and specialised sensors since 2009. One of the unique aspects of our project is that we operate and integrate multiple sensors: visible, multispectral and hyperspectral (VNIR), thermal, and LiDAR, to map and monitor different aspects of the environment at ultra-high resolutions on-demand. We have worked on a range of applications, including precision agriculture and viticulture; mapping and monitoring vegetation in remote locations such as Antarctica; deriving 3D tree structure for forest inventories;