In May of this year, we announced that we acquired a drone – more professionally known as a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) – with ambitious plans to trailblaze new remote sensing projects in the Merrimack Valley. Since then, our DJI Matrice 350 RTK, affectionally named Dronah Williams after a staff vote, has completed multiple missions both in and out of the valley.

After a maiden flight and systems test in June, our UAV has since been put to the test collecting both visible light and LiDAR imagery in Salisbury, Plum Island, Essex, and Lawrence!

Monitoring the Marsh

Taking to the skies across the coastline, data collection for the Healthy Estuaries grant work has begun. While battling coastal winds and salt spray, Dronah has collected a wide variety of imagery and LiDAR data to help in both monitoring and strategic planning for the protection of our sensitive marsh lands. The first swath of seasonal and biseasonal flights have been completed – once the second set of flights are done, we can begin making inferences from differences between the high-resolution data collected.

Taking Inventory of Brownfields

Across the country, scars of old industry and lax environmental protection laws remain in the form of brownfields – sites that contain contaminants and require cleanup before being repurposed in the modern day. Working with Lawrence, we were able to assist in these efforts by taking a flight across a 14-acre property bordering I-495, producing elevation models and much clearer imagery.

Dive into the Drone Program

Interested in learning more about what we’re up to and what our drone can do? Check out our newly launched page describing our program, process, and products. We are always looking for opportunities to work with our local communities to provide services with cutting-edge technology for our region.