Large scale topographic map comparison using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagers and real time kinematic (RTK)

Abstract

Large scale topographical mapping is important in geospatial industries in providing high resolution 3D geospatial data sources. The field of aerial photogrammetry also plays an important role in the surveying scope and map production. Nowadays, the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform is a quick way for low altitude aerial data acquisition for mapping. For collecting ground details data at the land-scape level, real time kinematic global positioning system (RTK GPS) is a useful tool for Ground-based topographic mapping. RTK GPS is mobile, collects data quickly at field, and measures elevation within an accuracy of 1 – 5 cm. This work aims to do a comparison of topo-graphic map generated by UAV imagers and by RTK GPS in term of accuracy. The study was conducted using UAV with high resolution non-metric digital compact camera while the ground control point were established using static observation method and ground detail survey using RTK observation method. Vertical accuracy for digital elevation model (DEM) obtained from this study was 8.015 cm at the altitude of 116 m.