The Use of Small Environmental Research Aircraft (SERAs) for Environmental Remote Sensing

要旨

This paper presents an overview of the use of Small Environmental Research Aircraft (SERAs) in the field of terrestrial remote sensing. This new and rapidly developing field exploits the advantages of small, low cost aircraft as platforms for advanced remote sensing instrumentation. Recent advances in imaging technology, attitude reference systems and computer hardware and software, have enabled researchers to develop and install complete imaging systems on small aircraft. The result is that image data can be acquired at a fraction of the cost of similar data from larger airborne platforms or satellite systems. With the current level of growth in the remote sensing industry, and an ever greater need for quality spatial information, it is likely that imaging systems mounted on small aircraft will become an integral component of the future range of data acquisition systems.