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Level: Intermediate
The geoscience industry has readily adopted Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS, or drones) to provide high-resolution and up-to-date aerial imagery for site investigations. However, continuing improvements in UAS capability, instrument payloads, and software present new opportunities unavailable to geologists just a few years ago. A thorough understanding of these technologies and an appreciation of their benefits, limitations, and interpretation is crucial for successful adoption.
This webinar will discuss the latest advancements in drone technologies with a focus on geologic and related applications. We will explore how drones facilitate data collection better, safer, and more cost-effectively than traditional methods and how drones are evolving to serve these functions. The webinar will provide an update on legal developments and perspectives on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. We will discuss the current and future capabilities of EO photogrammetry, IR thermography, IR and laser gas detection, LiDAR, Magnetometry, GPR, and multispectral/hyperspectral sensors.
Who should attend: This webinar is designed for practicing geologists, engineers, scientists, project managers, regulators, and academics who would like to expand and update their fundamental knowledge of scientific drone capabilities. This webinar is also designed for current UAS pilots who wish to understand where the industry is maturing and how our fields can take advantage of these new technologies.
About our presenters:
Daniel Bochicchio, GIT (Groundwater and Environmental Services, Inc.) - Dan Bochicchio is a Staff Environmental Scientist and sUAS Technical Lead at GES, focused on delivering innovative technologies in support of compliance monitoring and field-data collection programs through the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). His recent UAV projects have included horizontal directional drilling (HDD) monitoring with thermal cameras, right-of-way (ROW) monitoring and inspection, and integration of new sensor types into the UAV toolset. Prior to joining GES, Mr. Bochicchio led the development of the drone program at West Chester University. He later founded Skybernetics, a start-up company specializing in the deployment strategies of corporate UAV services for technical research and commercial purposes.
John J. Ennis, Esq., PG (Groundwater and Environmental Services, Inc.) - John Ennis is a Pennsylvania PG, Senior Vice President, and General Counsel at GES. He has over 30 years of environmental experience spanning environmental law, hydrogeological consulting, environmental insurance consulting and brokerage, and petroleum exploration. As a member of GES’ Advisory Council of senior leadership, he is involved with strategic and corporate initiatives, including founding and management of GES’ Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program.
Martin Helmke, PhD, PG (West Chester University of Pennsylvania) - Dr. Helmke is Past President of PCPG, a Full Professor of Hydrogeology in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, and President of Helmke Hydrogeologic, LLC. He is an FAA-licensed drone pilot with over 20 years of experience applying fixed-wing and multi-rotor UAVs for scientific research and commercial clients. He currently serves as scientific advisor to the GES UAV services program. Current research projects include UAV magnetometer deployment strategies to detect UXO and pipelines, multi-instrument detection of abandoned wells, multispectral fracture trace analysis, and search algorithms using real-time drone-to-drone telemetry.
