Drone training and village mapping in earthquake-hit Panga, Nepal

Kathmandu University reports a UAV training held from 23 to 25 September 2015, organised with the Humanitarian UAV Network (UAViators) and DJI, during which images of Panga, an area badly affected by that year’s earthquake, were captured and stitched into a mosaic that residents used for participatory mapping. Pix4D, a participant, also describes the mission. Pix4D lists the partners as UAViators, Kathmandu University’s Department of Civil and Geomatics Engineering, Kathmandu Living Labs, DJI and Smartisan, with flight permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

According to Pix4D, DJI Phantom 3 quadcopters made nine short flights totalling 45 minutes and captured about 900 images. The data was processed into a 3D point cloud, 3D model and orthomosaic map, which students printed and presented to residents for use in reconstruction and disaster preparedness.