UAV-Based Geospatial Mapping: From Sensing to Modeling and Prediction

Join us virtually, as we invite Dr. Fei Zhang to give us a presentation on UAV-Based Geospatial Mapping: From Sensing to Modeling and Prediction. UAV-based geospatial mapping has become increasingly important for capturing high-resolution spatial data in outdoor environments, due to its flexibility, efficiency, and accessibility. In this talk, I will share two case studies—precision agriculture and open-pit blast analysis—to demonstrate how UAV data can be used not only for mapping, but also for building models and enabling prediction. I will walk through how drone data can be processed into 3D representations and further used for crop characterization, yield-related analysis, and physics-based simulation of large-scale blast outcomes. The focus will be on data processing workflows and representative examples, with an emphasis on how UAV-based geospatial data can support more advanced analysis and modeling beyond standard mapping outputs.