From flight planning to virtual outcrop models — UAV mapping for geoscience teams, hands-on, on-site.
Drones have transformed how geoscientists capture the world: a single UAV survey can produce a centimetre-scale orthophoto, a digital elevation model, a photorealistic virtual outcrop, or a LiDAR point cloud of ground hidden beneath vegetation — safely, quickly and repeatably. This course gives your team the practical skills to bring UAV mapping in-house, from planning and flying a mission legally and safely through to processing the data into geoscience-ready models.
The training is built around geoscience applications rather than generic drone piloting. Participants learn to plan and fly missions, then process the results into orthophotos, DEMs, virtual outcrop models and LiDAR point clouds, and to work with multispectral and thermal sensors. Short lectures are interspersed with simulator and mission-planning exercises and, where the site and weather allow, real field acquisition — so the workflow is learned end to end. Because the course is delivered on-site, exercises can be built around your own survey targets and deliverables.
Instruction is led by geoscientists who use UAV photogrammetry and virtual outcrops in their own published research on structural geology and salt tectonics, so the emphasis is on producing survey products that stand up to quantitative geological analysis — not just attractive imagery.
Geoscientists, surveyors and mapping, exploration, environmental and monitoring teams who want to add UAV mapping to their toolkit or standardise how they already use it. It suits complete newcomers as well as staff who fly already but want a rigorous, geoscience-focused workflow from acquisition to model.
A general geoscience or technical background. No prior drone experience is required. Practical flying depends on a suitable site and acceptable weather; equipment can be provided or arranged, and the balance of practical vs. simulator work is agreed in advance.
Why UAVs have become central to geoscience mapping; the core remote-sensing concepts; the range of products (orthophotos, DEMs, virtual outcrops, point clouds) and what each is good for; how UAV data fits alongside field and subsurface work.
How drones are built and how sensors are integrated; the particularities of unmanned aircraft; choosing the right platform for the job; RGB, multispectral, thermal and LiDAR payloads and what each measures.
The regulatory framework in Romania (CAA) and the EU (EASA); the Open-category subcategories and what they allow; how to prepare for the A1/A3 and A2 competencies; ethics, privacy and GDPR considerations for aerial data. (The course prepares participants for these categories; it does not itself issue the official certificate.)
Flight safety and risk management; LiPo battery handling and management; pre-flight checks; planning a survey mission for the required ground resolution and overlap; practising on flight simulators before flying for real.
Structure-from-motion photogrammetry end to end: planning and flying (or acquiring indoors), image quality and ground control; processing to orthophotos, digital elevation models and photorealistic 3D and virtual outcrop models; assessing accuracy.
UAV LiDAR and how it complements photogrammetry (notably under vegetation); acquiring and processing point clouds; classifying returns and generating bare-earth and surface models.
Working with multispectral and thermal sensors; typical geoscience and environmental applications; combining sensor outputs with photogrammetric and LiDAR products.
Capturing reliable, well-georeferenced data where satellite positioning is weak or absent — underground and enclosed settings such as mines and salt mines, caverns and caves. Local reference and ground-control strategies, alternative positioning and registration approaches, lighting and flight constraints in confined spaces, and the workflows that turn indoor and subsurface surveys into usable geoscience models.
Using UAV products in real geoscience workflows — digital and virtual outcrop geology, structural mapping and measurement, change detection and monitoring; emerging techniques, including AI-assisted processing and analysis.
Participants run a mission end to end — plan, fly (site and weather permitting), process, and deliver a finished model of a target on your site or a nearby outcrop — consolidating every step from the course.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to: plan and safely conduct a UAV survey within the Romanian and EU legal framework; select the right platform and sensor for a task; acquire and process photogrammetric data into orthophotos, DEMs and virtual outcrop models; acquire and process UAV LiDAR; work with multispectral and thermal sensors; manage flight risk and LiPo batteries; and integrate UAV products into geoscience mapping, structural analysis and monitoring workflows.
Instructor-led delivery on-site; all course exercises and sample datasets; guidance on processing software and setup; a course workbook and reference list participants keep. Loan of survey equipment for the practical sessions can be arranged, and the course can be weighted towards photogrammetry, LiDAR, virtual outcrops or a specific application on request.
Travel and accommodation for the instructor (charged at cost or by arrangement); official EASA/CAA drone-pilot certification and its associated exams and fees (the course prepares for, but does not issue, these); participant drone hardware unless arranged in advance; and any commercial processing-software licences your team wishes to use.