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Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Support Environmental Applications within USACE Civil Works

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has identified a number of research and development (R&D) opportunities to help reduce disaster risks, including cost-efficient technology, such as unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technology for accurate, detailed, and timely two-dimensional and three-dimensional monitoring of coastal and riverine landscapes.

Coastal and riverine shorelines are dynamic landscapes that change continually in response to environmental forces. The combination of static infrastructure with dynamic and diverse landscapes creates management challenges for navigation, storm damage reduction, and ecosystem health that are exacerbated during natural disasters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood risk management (FRM) mission strives to reduce the nation's flood risk and increase resilience to disasters. FRM is inherently interdisciplinary, requiring accurate identification of environmental, physical, and infrastructure features that can reduce risk from flood and coastal storm disasters.

USACE has identified a number of research and development (R&D) opportunities that will help reduce disaster risks, including: identifying better technologies for hazard identification pre- and post-events; developing an interdisciplinary understanding of physical, chemical, and biological recovery processes that occur post-event; and providing shared and easily accessible, up-to-date data sets that can be utilized by flood and coastal storm modeling and predictive tools to inform emergency response.

Panel A shows the DTM (shaded presentation) of levees in a test area, and Panel B shows a comparison of profiles of the direct field survey (GNSS) and the DTM generated from a UAS. (Courtesy of Bakula et al. [2017])

Cost-efficient technology and methodology, such as the use of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technology for accurate, detailed, and timely two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) monitoring of coastal and riverine landscapes, have the potential to address many of these goals. However, an important process in adapting new technologies is ensuring an understanding of existing methods, identifying gaps or shortcomings with current techniques, and then developing new approaches and providing guidance and insight on how new tools can address these gaps, as well as exploring potential future capabilities. To that end, the USACE Flood and Coastal Systems R&D Program (FCS) has initiated an effort focused on identifying and developing defendable and consistent UAS-based methodologies and data products that can seamlessly integrate with numerical models to improve quantification of the nation's flood risks to coastal and riverine shorelines, infrastructure, ecosystems, and communities.

Remotely sensed data provide spatial and temporal perspectives on ecological phenomena that would otherwise be difficult to study. Though traditional air- and space-borne systems provide many advantages, they are often constrained by cost; temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution; and cloud contamination. UASs are emerging as flexible platforms that, in many cases, overcome previous constraints and, therefore, have the potential to supplement or replace measurements acquired from other methods.

Major advantages of UASs can be found in the ability to operate in high-risk situations, in inaccessible areas, at low altitudes, and close to targets, all without endangering human life. Recent technological advances in UASs, including the miniaturization of components and improvements in electronics, navigation, and telemetry, have resulted in reduced costs and risks, increased efficiencies, and enhanced products and perspectives on projects. These UAS improvements have resulted in a growing service mechanism with widespread application across civil, military, and public sector uses.

Though remote sensing is not new to the USACE, advanced techniques have transformed ecological research by providing unique spatial and temporal perspectives on ecological phenomena and offer the potential for much higher resolution data at more frequent intervals, enabling scientists to more consistently examine a range of ecological systems. Environmental monitoring, especially to evaluate the success of large-or small-scale restoration projects, requires the ability to detect and map land surface attributes and landscape level characteristics over time and space.

The most practical method for these assessments is through high spatial resolution imagery (< 5 meter (m) spatial resolution), either from satellite or airborne platforms. Airborne systems have traditionally been considered the most available, versatile, and widely used means of acquiring remotely sensed data products. For decades, these data sources and products have been routinely used within the USACE for environmental mapping applications.

This work was done by Glenn M. Suir, Molly Reif, Shea Hammond, Sam Jackson, and Katherine Brodie for the Army Engineer Research and Development Center. For more information, download the Technical Support Package (free white paper) from the link below. ERDC-0013

Topics:
Aerospace Aircraft Data acquisition and handling Disaster and emergency management Environmental protection Remote sensing Risk management Robotics Terrain Unmanned Air Vehicles/Systems (UAV/UAS) Unmanned aerial vehicles Vehicles
This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
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Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Support Environmental Applications within USACE Civil Works

(reference ERDC-0013) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

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    Aerospace & Defense Technology Magazine

    This article first appeared in the June, 2022 issue of Aerospace & Defense Technology Magazine (Vol. 7 No. 4).

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    Overview

    The document titled "Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Support Environmental Applications within USACE Civil Works" focuses on the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology into the operations of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), particularly in environmental missions and flood risk management. It emphasizes the potential of UAS to enhance data collection and monitoring practices, providing timely and accurate information critical for managing coastal and riverine landscapes.

    The report outlines the advantages of UAS technology, including its ability to operate in high-risk and inaccessible areas, low-altitude flight capabilities, and the collection of high-resolution data without endangering human life. UAS can supplement traditional air- and space-borne systems, which often face limitations related to cost, resolution, and environmental conditions. The document highlights the growing interest in UAS technology across various USACE districts, noting that it can lead to significant cost and time savings compared to conventional contracting methods.

    Feedback from various USACE districts indicates a strong interest in UAS applications for environmental monitoring, including vegetation mapping, topographic surveys, and real-time inspections. The report also discusses the need for policy development to facilitate the broader adoption of UAS technology within USACE operations. It identifies several research and development opportunities aimed at creating consistent methodologies and data products that align with USACE's flood risk management goals.

    The document emphasizes the importance of collaboration among USACE districts to share experiences and best practices related to UAS technology. It also notes the potential for UAS to improve situational awareness and enhance the accuracy of environmental assessments, which are crucial for effective decision-making in disaster risk reduction.

    In conclusion, the report serves as a technical review of UAS capabilities and their application in environmental missions, advocating for the integration of this technology into USACE operations to improve efficiency, accuracy, and safety in managing flood risks and environmental challenges. The findings underscore the transformative potential of UAS in modernizing data collection and enhancing the effectiveness of USACE's civil works initiatives.

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