Stacey D. Lyle

Airborne multicamera system for geo-spatial applications

Airborne remote sensing has many applications that include vegetation detection, oceanography, marine biology, geographical information systems, and environmental coastal science analysis. Remotely sensed images, for example, can be used to study the aftermath of episodic events such as the hurricanes and floods that occur year round in the coastal bend area of Corpus Christi. This paper describes an Airborne Multi-Spectral Imaging System that uses digital cameras to provide high resolution at very high rates. The software is based on Delphi 5.0 and IC Imaging Controls ActiveX controls. Both time and the GPS coordinates are recorded. Three successful test flights have been conducted so far. The paper present flight test results and discusses the issues being addressed to fully develop the system.

Experiment to Test RTK GPS with Satellite “Internet to Tractor” for Precision Agriculture

This experiment tests the ability to provide Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System corrections via a real time network (RTK GPSRTN) by utilizing a satellite Internet connections in the field to multiple tractors for precision agriculture. Precision agriculture technology improves sustainable production by providing more farmers with the ability to obtain highly accurate machine control in rough or varied terrain. This experiment tests the use of low cost single frequency L1-band RTK GPS in a RTN covering a wide area. Wired Internet is not available in the field for many farmers so cellular internet such as 3G/4G must be relied on for connectivity. Where 3G/4G have limited coverage, satellite Internet could be used. A mobile satellite Internet antenna can be placed on a support vehicle and moved to a site where multiple tractors are harvesting or planting. The Internet is then shared with precision agriculture farming equipment nearby. Having better logistical and fiscal access to machine control and the Internet could assist the farmer and the United States Department of Agriculture in efforts to sustain adequate crop yields, project future agriculture needs, and better protect crops from pests and diseases. This experiment provides information on how to configure “Internet to Tractor†for RTK GPS RTN concept with a discussion of the limitations and future product development.

Conversion of cadastral data to KML file type for use in Google Earth and Google Maps for Mobile as a land information system

Real-time geographic information systems (GIS) mapping is possible with online suppliers for application in surveying and mapping projects. Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is the format used to display geospatial points in Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Maps for Mobile. Some tags are optional for programming with KML. Because this is a mark-up language, key words or tags are used to generate geographic features and map elements. In each element, the tags must be in a specific order within the KML. When Google Maps is generating a map within the KML the features and elements are drawn within a linear progression through the coded file. Utilization of this KML data for real-time mapping activities on land surveying and engineering projects is investigated in this research. This research will show how producing database files in the office or field and making the data available to users in real-time.

Design and development of an airborne multispectral imaging system

Advances in imaging technology and sensors have made airborne remote sensing systems viable for many applications that require reasonably good resolution at low cost. Digital cameras are making their mark on the market by providing high resolution at very high rates. This paper describes an aircraft-mounted imaging system (AMIS) that is being designed and developed at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (A&M-CC) with the support of a grant from NASA. The approach is to first develop and test a one-camera system that will be upgraded into a five-camera system that offers multi-spectral capabilities. AMIS will be low cost, rugged, portable and has its own battery power source. Its immediate use will be to acquire images of the Coastal area in the Gulf of Mexico for a variety of studies covering vast spectra from near ultraviolet region to near infrared region. This paper describes AMIS and its characteristics, discusses the process for selecting the major components, and presents the progress.