Utilizing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in Restoration Projects
Cory George, PE, PLS
PilotSE, PC
Pilot Mountain, NC
UAS, UAVs, Drones and the like are popular buzzwords in today’s surveying and engineering community. UAS stands for Unmanned Aerial Systems and is commonly used for remote sensing applications such as orthographic photography, LiDAR, and inspections. Remote sensing as a method of collecting data has been around for some time, though recently is being implemented across the industry in various functions as UAS technology has become more readily available. In order to confidently use this data and provide reliable results, understanding UAS data collection, processing, and accuracy limitations is vital to project success. Literally dive into the weeds to see how vegetation impacts the LiDAR data collection and compare real world examples of ground truth survey, publicly available LiDAR and site flown LiDAR.
Explore the various types of sensors, their use, and applicability to restoration projects in pre-construction data collection, construction monitoring, as-builts, and project monitoring. Discover the advantages and disadvantages of implementing UAS data, including its impact on project budgets and timelines, accuracy, and deliverables. See what’s required to produce UAS data, who should be certifying it, who should be flying it, and how to tell the difference.
About Cory George, PE, PLS
Mr. George is the Founder and President of PilotSE, and civil engineering and land surveying firm located in the foothills of North Carolina. PilotSE specializes in environmental, restoration and stream corridor surveying projects. Cory began his career at NC State University doing monitoring surveys for completed stream restoration projects. From there he entered industry, obtaining his PE and PLS licenses completing stream restoration surveying projects, water resources engineering design projects and other commercial land development projects. In the midst of the COVID pandemic Mr. George founded PilotSE (Pilot Surveying and Engineering) to provide quality professional services throughout rural western North Carolina and beyond.
Throughout his career Mr. George has completed numerous topographic, geomorphological, boundary, and similar surveys throughout North Carolina and eastern United States. He has successfully completed environmental restoration survey projects leveraging the latest technology in data collection and remote sensing including GPS, and integration of UAS based LiDAR and Photogrammetry. Mr. George leans on his engineering experience and knowledge of stormwater design to provide thoughtful, thorough and accurate land surveying results.
In what little time he takes off, you’ll find him involved in Cub Scouts with his boys, vacationing at the beach, visiting a new national park, or spoiling his only daughter rotten.
www.linkedin.com/in/cory-george-pe-pls-ba4aaa21