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Wanted to share/store my thoughts on why we bought a UAV (drone, quad-copter whichever you call it), and what we are looking to get out of the experience. 
From: http://www.modellhobby.de/k_staufenb_e/prodpic/DJI-Phantom-2-RTF-with-Zenmuse-H3-3D-GoPro-3-Gimbal-2300015_b_3.JPG
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A colleague of mine is being accused of damaging an adjacent residential property when a pipe busted in his storage shed on the rear of his property, during a winter storm earlier this year. The busted pipe released approx. 1 quart/min. of water onto the ground. The question is: does water flow towards the adjacent property? We can answer this quickly with LiDAR.  Have been working on developing building footprints from aerial imagery and LiDAR data that required an NDVI calculation and wanted to share the best workflow that I have found. You can read more about what a Normlized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is here.
Color aerial photo (left) and NDVI calculation (right). Notice how roofs, roads and vegetation are well defined in the NDVI image.
 I am excited to announce that I have been asked to join LiDAR News as a Distinguished Contributor.
LiDAR News is one of the largest information points for laser scanning on the internet and the only dedicated laser scanning print publication. I was asked to begin contributing content a few weeks ago and had my first article published online yesterday. The article will also be published in the LiDAR News print publication next month.  Map of attainable bandwidth Today bandwidth is King.
An increasing number of services ride on the all-encompassing internet connection. This has done three things to the rural telecommunication business:  "The Point," BHI, NC I was approached by a resident of Bald Head Island, North Carolina (BHI) and questioned about the different dune ridges that span the island, and in particular the dune ridge than runs beneath their house. So I mapped the island to determine the location of the dune ridge and possibly shine some light on their history. I have a background in Geomorphology (the study of how landscapes change), so I also provided some information regarding the processes that have worked (and are still working) to shape BHI.
 LIDAR derived 3D estimation of tree height. I put together a poster advertisement, displaying a few of the analyses I could do for practicing foresters in the region. Forestry is inherently geographic, so it wasn't difficult to "dream-up" some examples. Some of the examples are basic (imagery) while others are more advanced (tree height, visualizations).
 Cell Coverage in the United States. High resolution cell coverage data is envied by businesses all over the country. Unfortunately, providers and cell tower owners keep a tight leash on cell coverage information.
Recently, I was asked by a telecom company to produce a cell coverage base map where they could overlay their assets and customers; helping them to quantify their need for, and best locations of new cell tower construction within their service area. |
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