Digital mapping of UMK Jeli campus using drone technology

Aerial or satellite images are conventionally used for geospatial data collection and in producing a topographic map. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) such as drones have emerged as a suitable technology for providing very high spatial and temporal resolution data at a lower cost. Previously, drones have been utilized widely in the military but now it can be easily operated by the public community for mapping, monitoring, video capturing and as a hobby. This present study focuses on the utilization of drone technology to produce a digital map of UMK Jeli Campus. The objectives of this study are to access the capability and accuracy of the drone in producing a digital map. In this study, Parrot ANAFI device was used as a platform to acquire aerial digital images of the study area. After capturing the aerial digital images, ground control points were established with the aid of a handheld global positioning system (GPS) device. Then captured digital images were processed using Agisoft Photoscan software to produce a digital map of UMK Jeli Campus. Within this study, an area of 4.622246 km2 has been successfully been mapped. This study shows that UAV can be used for producing a digital map at sub-meter accuracy and it can also be used for diversified applications.