In a first, Akola administration uses drone for land survey

  • | Wednesday | 26th April, 2017

NAGPUR: In a first-of-its-kind experiment in Maharashtra, the Akola district 's land records office used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones, for land survey measure and mapping. "The entire experiment turned out to be an event for the local population. "Using UAVs would save a significant amount of money and manpower. In case of any obstacle along the route, the drone is able to it using its sensors. However, the Akola Land Records Department used the new technology for measuring and mapping agriculture, barren and non-agriculture land.Kulkarni and his team surveyed the village of Khirpuri in Akola's Balapur tehsil using a specially designed drone fitted with a high-resolution camera.

NAGPUR: In a first-of-its-kind experiment in Maharashtra, the Akola district 's land records office used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones, for land survey measure and mapping. The project was conducted on a pilot basis and officials will soon examine the data for accuracy."Using UAVs would save a significant amount of money and manpower. It would also save a lot of time of the officials, who otherwise spend six to seven months for the entire process," Akola's district superintendent of Land Records Department Ajay Kulkarni, the brain behind concept, told TOI.The UAVs are usually used for military reconnaissance and air strikes. However, the Akola Land Records Department used the new technology for measuring and mapping agriculture, barren and non-agriculture land.Kulkarni and his team surveyed the village of Khirpuri in Akola's Balapur tehsil using a specially designed drone fitted with a high-resolution camera. The hardware was provided by a New Delhi-based IT firm who also wanted to test out their new invention."The firm claims their system will be able to deliver mapping accuracy up to 1 centimetre while flying at a height of 75 metres," he said.As per state government regulations, Gaothan surveys are conducted on villages with a population over 2,000, which include determining number of houses and farmland, pathways and the perimeter of the village."Currently, such surveys are conducted using manual methods which involved placing stones as markers around the village and calculating the distance between each stone, or by using electronic total station (ETS) machines for the same work," explained Kulkarni.A flight plan around the village is programmed into the GPS software. Once the UAV is airborne, a person manning the remote control helps in navigation. In case of any obstacle along the route, the drone is able to it using its sensors. "If the experiment achieves desirable accuracy, then the entire procedure may be completed within a month," he hoped.After the drone completed its run over the village, the expertise of the land records department is put to play. "In order to judge the accuracy, we have to consider the angle at which the images were taken and calculate the actual area with the data available with us," he added.The map is projected as two-dimensional (2D) images with the current technology being used, but soon 3D mapping software will also be tested for surveys. "The entire experiment turned out to be an event for the local population. Children and elders rushed out to open spaces when they noticed something flying around the village," the officer said.

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