ENGINEERING MAPS MUST DECLARE THEIR ACCURACY AND UAV IS NOT A MAGIC TOOL

Abstract

Making maps from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photography is a modern technology that is rising in popularity nowadays.  It seems that the new technology has made people who are map users and map makers believe that making maps using UAV is a simple task and anyone is capable of doing it.  Of course, this belief is a misunderstanding and is harmful to the mapping society in that it contradicts the correct theory of knowledge and might bring damages if the maps which do not meet the accuracy standard are used.  UAV is not a magic tool and it cannot create maps out of nowhere.  Images taken from UAV are just like ordinary images and must go through photogrammetric processes to extract the positions of features in the image, or the images must be rectified to produce photomaps or orthophotos.  This paper presents a measure to prevent damages occurring from using such UAV maps that do not follow the mapping standard, especially, in engineering projects, with which people’s lives and assets are involved.  The measure campaigns for engineering maps, especially orthophotos generated from UAV, to declare their positional accuracy and recommends a simple method to declare map accuracy via the filename.  The paper also suggests a procedure to assess map accuracy according to the new standard.