• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.3-8
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• 2016

Due to the recent technical development and the enhancement of image resolution, Unmanned Airborne Vehicles(UAVs) have been used for various fields. A low altitude UAV system takes advantage of taking riverbed imagery at small rivers as well as land surface imagery on the ground. The bathymetric data are generated from the low altitude UAV system. The accuracy of the data is analyzed along water depths, comparing GPS observations and a DSM generated from UAV images. It is found that the depth accuracy of the geospatial data below 50 cm depth of water satisfies the regulation(${\pm}10cm$ spatial accuracy) of bathymetric surveying. Therefore this research shows that the geospatial data generated from UAV images at shallow regions of rivers can be used for bathymetric surveying.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.162-178
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• 2017

Remote sensing can be used to provide information about the monitoring of crop growth condition. Recently Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology offers new opportunities for assessing crop growth condition using UAV imagery. The objective of this study was to assess weather UAV aerial images are suitable for the monitoring of highland Kimchi cabbage. This study was conducted using a fixed-wing UAV (Model : Ebee) with Cannon S110, IXUS/ELPH camera during farming season from 2015 to 2016 in the main production area of highland Kimchi cabbage, Anbandegi, Maebongsan, and Gwinemi. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) by using UAV images was stable and suitable for monitoring of Kimchi cabbage situation. There were strong relationships between UAV NDVI and the growth parameters (the plant height and leaf width) ($R^2{\geq}0.94$). The tendency of UAV NDVI according to Kimchi cabbage growth was similar in the same area for two years (2015~2016). It means that if UAV image may be collected several years, UAV images could be used for estimation of the stage of growth and situation of Kimchi cabbage cultivation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

Carbon storage is one of the regulating ecosystem services provided by urban street trees. It is important that evaluating the economic value of ecosystem services accurately. The carbon storage of street trees was calculated by measuring the morphological parameter on the field. As the method is labor-intensive and time-consuming for the macro-scale research, remote sensing has been more widely used. The airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) is used in obtaining the point clouds data of a densely planted area and extracting individual trees for the carbon storage estimation. However, the LiDAR has limitations such as high cost and complicated operations. In addition, trees change over time they need to be frequently. Therefore, Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry with unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is a more suitable method for obtaining point clouds data. In this paper, a UAV loaded with a digital camera was employed to take oblique aerial images for generating point cloud of street trees. We extracted the diameter of breast height (DBH) from generated point cloud data to calculate the carbon storage. We compared DBH calculated from UAV data and measured data from the field in the selected area. The calculated DBH was used to estimate the carbon storage of street trees in the study area using a regression model. The results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of applying UAV imagery and SfM technique to the carbon storage estimation of street trees. The technique can contribute to efficiently building inventories of the carbon storage of street trees in urban areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.85-96
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• 2023

This study proposes a method for forest vegetation monitoring using high-resolution aerial imagery captured by unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV) and deep learning technology. The research site was selected in the forested area of Mountain Dogo, Asan City, Chungcheongnam-do, and the target species for monitoring included Pinus densiflora, Quercus mongolica, and Quercus acutissima. To classify vegetation species at the pixel level in UAV imagery based on characteristics such as leaf shape, size, and color, the study employed the semantic segmentation method using the prominent U-net deep learning model. The research results indicated that it was possible to visually distinguish Pinus densiflora Siebold & Zucc, Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb, and Quercus acutissima Carruth in 135 aerial images captured by UAV. Out of these, 104 images were used as training data for the deep learning model, while 31 images were used for inference. The optimization of the deep learning model resulted in an overall average pixel accuracy of 92.60, with mIoU at 0.80 and FIoU at 0.82, demonstrating the successful construction of a reliable deep learning model. This study is significant as a pilot case for the application of UAV and deep learning to monitor and manage representative species among climate-vulnerable vegetation, including Pinus densiflora, Quercus mongolica, and Quercus acutissima. It is expected that in the future, UAV and deep learning models can be applied to a variety of vegetation species to better address forest management.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.275-285
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• 2016

This study analyzes the accuracy of ortho imagery based on whether camera calibration performed or not, using an unmanned aerial vehicle which equipped smart camera. Photgrammetric UAV system application was developed and smart camera performed image triangulation, and then created image as ortho imagery. Image triangulation was performed depending on whether interior orientation (IO) parameters were considered or not, which determined at the camera calibration phase. As a result of the camera calibration, RMS error appeared 0.57 pixel, which is more accurate compared to the result of the previous study using non-metric camera. When IO parameters were considered in static experiment, the triangulation resulted in 2 pixel or less (RMSE), which is at least 200 % higher than when IO parameters were not considered. After generate ortho imagery, the accuracy is 89% higher when camera calibration are considered than when they are not considered. Therefore, smart camera has high potential to use as a payload for UAV system and is expected to be equipped on the current UAV system to function directly or indirectly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.453-464
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• 2019

Recently, as the demand for 3D geospatial information increases, the importance of rapid and accurate data construction has increased. Although many studies have been conducted to register UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) imagery based on LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data, which is capable of precise 3D data construction, studies using LiDAR data embedded in MMS (Mobile Mapping System) are insufficient. Therefore, this study compared and analyzed 9 matching algorithms based on feature points for registering reflectance image converted from LiDAR point cloud intensity data acquired from MMS with image data from UAV. Our results indicated that when the SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) algorithm was applied, it was able to stable secure a high matching accuracy, and it was confirmed that sufficient conjugate points were extracted even in various road environments. For the registration accuracy analysis, the SIFT algorithm was able to secure the accuracy at about 10 pixels except the case when the overlapping area is low and the same pattern is repeated. This is a reasonable result considering that the distortion of the UAV altitude is included at the time of UAV image capturing. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to be used as a basic research for 3D registration of LiDAR point cloud intensity data and UAV imagery.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.24 no.6_2
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• pp.753-762
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• 2021

Google provides mapping services using satellite imagery, this is widely used for the study. Since about 20 years ago, research and business using drones have been expanding. Pix4D is widely used to create 3D information models using drones. This study compared the distance error by comparing the result of the road construction site with the DSM data of Google Earth and Pix4 D. Through this, we tried to understand the reliability of the result of distance measurement in Google Earth. A DTM result of 3.08 cm/pixel was obtained as a result of matching with 49666 key points for each image. The length and altitude of Pix4D and Google Earth were measured and compared using the obtained PCD. As a result, the average error of the distance based on the data of Pix4D was measured to be 0.68 m, confirming that the error was relatively small. As a result of measuring the altitude of Google Earth and Pix4D and comparing them, it was confirmed that the maximum error was 83.214m, which was measured using satellite images, but the error was quite large and there was inaccuracy. Through this, it was confirmed that there are difficulties in analyzing and acquiring data at road construction sites using Google Earth, and the result was obtained that point cloud data using drones is necessary.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2017

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for the estimation of tree height is gaining recognition. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of tree height estimation of Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc. and Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc. using digital surface model (DSM) generated from UAV-acquired imageries. Images were taken with the $Trimble^{(R)}$ UX5 equipped with Sony ${\alpha}5100$. The generated DSM, together with the digital elevation model (DEM) generated from a digital map of the study areas, were used in the estimation of tree height. Field measurements were conducted in order to generate a regression model and carry out accuracy assessment. The obtained coefficients of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) for P. densiflora (R2=0.71; RMSE=1.00 m) and P. koraiensis (R2=0.64; RMSE=0.85 m) are comparable to the results of similar studies. The results of the paired two-tailed t-test show that the two tree height estimation methods are not significantly different (p-value=0.04 and 0.10, alpha level=0.01), which means that tree height estimation using UAV imagery could be used as an alternative to field measurement.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.483-497
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• 2016

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery are being assessed for analyzing within field spatial variability for agricultural precision management, because UAV imagery may be acquired quickly during critical periods of rapid crop growth. This study refers to the derivation of barley and wheat growth prediction equation by using UAV derived vegetation index. UAV imagery was taken on the test plots six times from late February to late June during the barley and wheat growing season. The field spectral reflectance during growing period for the 5 variety (Keunal-bori, Huinchalssal-bori, Saechalssal-bori, Keumkang and Jopum) were measured using ground spectroradiometer and three growth parameters, including plant height, shoot dry weight and number of tiller were investigated for each ground survey. Among the 6 Vegetation Indices (VI), the RVI, NDVI, NGRDI and GLI between measured and image derived showed high relationship with the coefficient of determination respectively. Using the field investigation data, the vegetation indices regression curves were derived, and the growth parameters were tried to compare with the VIs value.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.75-86
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to develop a technology for estimating rice growth and damage effect according to bacterial leaf blight using UAV multi-spectral imagery. For this purpose, we analyzed the change of aerial images, rice growth factors (plant height, dry weight, LAI) and disease effects according to disease occurrence by using UAV images for 3 rice varieties (Milyang23, Sindongjin-byeo, Saenuri-byeo) from 2017 to 2018. The correlation between vegetation index and rice growth factor during vegetative growth period showed a high value of 0.9 or higher each year. As a result of applying the growth estimation model built in 2017 to 2018, the plant height of Milyang23 showed good error withing 10%. However, it is considered that studies to improve the accuracy of other items are needed. Fixed wing unmanned aerial photographs were also possible to estimate the damage area after 2 to 4 weeks from inoculation. Although sensing data in the multi-spectral (Blue, Green, Red, NIR) band have limitations in early diagnosis of rice disease, for rice varieties such as Milyang23 and Sindongjin-byeo, it was possible to construct the equation of infected leaf area ratio and rice yield estimation using UAV imagery in early and mid-September with high correlation coefficient of 0.8 to 0.9. The results of this study are expected to be useful for farming and policy support related to estimating rice growth, rice plant disease and yield change based on UAV images.