UAV for 3D mapping applications: a review

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms are nowadays a valuable source of data for inspection, surveillance, mapping, and 3D modeling issues. As UAVs can be considered as a low-cost alternative to the classical manned aerial photogrammetry, new applications in the shortand close-range domain are introduced. Rotary or fixed-wing UAVs, capable of performing the photogrammetric data acquisition with amateur or SLR digital cameras, can fly in manual, semiautomated, and autonomous modes. Following a typical photogrammetric workflow, 3D results like digital surface or terrain models, contours, textured 3D models, vector information, etc. can be produced, even on large areas. The paper reports the state of the art of UAV for geomatics applications, giving an overview of different UAV platforms, applications, and case studies, showing also the latest developments of UAV image processing. New perspectives are also addressed.