Center for Geographic Analysis hosts conference on using drones for academic research
Most people see drones as a hobby, a fun toy for photographers and videographers, or maybe even the future of package delivery. But Jason Ur sees them as an invaluable research tool. A professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Geographic Analysis, Ur in recent years has used drones to quickly create 3-D maps of ancient sites in the Kurdistan region of Iraq — something that used to take days or weeks. “This technology — both the drones and the software to stitch the images together — is now within the reach of anyone with even a small research budget,” Ur said. “That’s what really makes this revolutionary not just for archaeologists, but for any researcher who needs to capture phenomena on the ground. In terms of the potential of drones … the democratization that this technology allows is transformative.” And to share just how transformative, the Center for Geographic Analysis hosted...