The Drone Infrastructure Lab

Also called DroneLab@UiO, the Drone Infrastructure Lab is equipped with a variety of drone systems ranging from light to heavy with payloads and sensors suitable for acquiring data on relevant scientific processes. The lab is used in both research and teaching in the Department of Geosciences, and services are also provided to external clients. Since 2021, the lab serves as a core infrastructure for research at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

One of the drones in the infrastructure, a Matrice 300 RTK equipped with the DJI L1 LiDAR system taking off in Sodankylä, Finland, piloted by Clare Webster. Photo: Cassie Lumbrazo

One of the drones in the infrastructure, a Matrice 300 RTK equipped with the DJI L1 LiDAR system taking off in Sodankylä, Finland, piloted by Clare Webster. Photo: Cassie Lumbrazo

Booking and prices

Prices: Contact Luc Girod

Booking: Booking through BookitLab

Other enquiries:
drone-lab@mn.uio.no


Contact information:

Facility Manager: Trond Eiken
Location: Sem Sælands vei 1
0371 OSLO
Norway

Instruments / Drones / Processing:

  • The equipment in the The Drone Infrastructure Lab ranges from very light drones (DJI Mavic and Phantom series) that are easy to transport and deploy in the field, to much larger systems (DJI Matrice 300RTK and fixed wing Trinity F90+) capable of carrying heavier payloads, including custom systems. Currently available payloads include high precision photogrammetric cameras (DJI P1), thermal cameras (DJI Mavic 2EA and DJI H20T), multispectral cameras (Micasense RedEdge MX Red and Blue), a LiDAR (DJI L1) and a gas analyzer.
  • More specific technical and detailed information regarding the drone systems in the lab is available from this wiki-website:
  • Support equipment for the lab such as GNSS surveying equipment and control point markers are also available at the Department of Geosciences.
  • Available software for processing the data and drone images includes: 
    • Agisoft Photoscan, Trimble UAS-Master, Pix-4Dmapper, DJI-Terra, as well as open source programs.

Description of services:

  • Users can upon request hire our systems for aerial imagery, photogrammetric data collection, or small-scale earth surface observation.

  • For more complex data collection, users can consult with us on our expertise on lidar, thermal or multi-spectral imagery and/or larger-scale mapping.

  • We can also offer a complete line of work from field planning, acquisition of ground control points, flying and post-processing with deliverables in agreed formats.

The DroneLab@UiO as a core infrastructure

The DroneLab@UiO is a core infrastructure in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. We offer expertise in the field of drone-based remote sensing along with the loan of different drones and payloads to research staff and students at the University of Oslo. The lab is hosted by the Dept. of Geosciences in cooperation with other departments at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

The DroneLab@UiO gives possibilities for research groups at the MN-faculty, UiO to:

  • Perform land surveying and observation missions to advance the understanding of landforms, vegetation, fauna, cryospheric processes, and other fields of interest. 
  • Study atmospheric conditions such as gas fluxes and turbulence. 
  • Provide great tools to create impactful visuals for research projects. 

If this sounds interesting and you want to know more you can talk to the person responsible, Dr Luc Girod, in room 204 OR read more on the link below.

Exploring with DroneLab@UiO: Some examples on the drones in use

Wiki page for the DroneLab@UiO

This lab is in BookitLab!

By appointment, the Drone Infrastructure Lab staff can assist in research activities or/and assist students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, as well as external research institutes. 

Some images from the Drone Lab

Summer landscape at Finse: Raw image taken with a DJI Phantom 4 RTK Drone in the area surrounding the Finse Research Station. Photo: Luc Girod, UiO
Landscape at Finse: Raw image taken with a DJI Phantom 4 RTK Drone in the area surrounding the Finse Research Station. Larger version: 2500px. Photo: Luc Girod, UiO
Working in the field: Clare Webster prepares a drone flight plan in Sodankylä, Finland. Photo: Cassie Lumbrazo
Working in the field: Clare Webster prepares a drone flight plan in Sodankylä, Finland. Photo: Cassie Lumbrazo
Operating a drone: Landing the drone after a successful flight by pilot and operator of the drone Trond Eiken from Dept. of Geosciences, UiO. Photo: Sebastian Westermann, UiO
Operating a drone: Landing the drone after a successful flight by pilot and operator of the drone Trond Eiken from Dept. of Geosciences, UiO. Photo: Sebastian Westermann, UiO
Lidar images: Data from the DJI L1 LiDAR system over a farmstead in Eidsvoll, January 2022. Drone operated by John Hult and Luc Girod.
Lidar images: Data from the DJI L1 LiDAR system over a farmstead in Eidsvoll, January 2022. Drone operated by John Hult and Luc Girod. In this figure we see the different way to represent the data: coloured with a photograph acquired simultaneously, using height values, using intensity values (how much of the pulse is bounced back to the sensor from that point), and the return number (several returns can be recorded from the same LiDAR pulse). Larger version: 1200px  Figure: John Hult and Luc Girod, UiO
Published Oct. 22, 2019 12:05 PM - Last modified June 25, 2024 9:54 AM
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