EEA Grant Project: Workshop on data processing from images gained by Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Find out more about SINTEF’s expertise on Environmental design of hydropower systems

From February 20-22, an international workshop on data processing from images gained by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) was held in Trondheim as part of the project, prepared by SINTEF Energy Research and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at NTNU.

Two experts in the field, Christian Haas (IamHydro, Germany) and Jeffrey A. Tuhtan (Tallin University of Technology), held a course on the use of the “Structure from Motion” (SfM) method for riverine engineering applications.

SfM is a photogrammetric range imaging technique that allows estimating three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional image sequences and optionally a network of ground control points. The images can be taken using UAS or just with a normal camera during a terrestrial survey.

The pictures below illustrates the capability of the method for the reconstruction of the stream morphology for a short reach of Ilabekken (Trondheim).

Ilabekken in Trondheim. — Example for the application of SfM for Ilabekken in Trondheim: One of the photos that were taken by a digital camera (above) and a working version of the 3D model that was derived based on the data.

The course included a theoretical introduction into the SfM method and data processing, the presentation of the data ascertainment and of different technologies and techniques of gaining data in the field, as well as methods to scale, rotate and reference the model.

During the course, the participants ascertained some own data sets in the hydraulic laboratory of NTNU. This data was used for a professional training in sorting, selecting and processing the previously gained data with Agisoft Photoscan Professional Software, together with some pre-prepared test data sets.

The 10 course participants from the University of Galati (Romania), SINTEF, NTNU, NINA and Sweco emphasized that the practical knowledge of the method and the tools gives them new possibilities for effective field surveys in river science and applications.