Chinas UAV fleet arrives!

The first batch of 17 light, fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aerial photography systems was delivered in Beijing on April 15 to the surveying and mapping departments of 16 provinces and municipalities.

This marks the first time domestic surveying and mapping departments have begun to comprehensively apply UAV aerial photography systems that played significant roles in disaster relief for the Wenchuan earthquake. The UAVs will considerably enhance China’s emergency support service capacity in terms of surveying and mapping.

Xu Deming, vice-minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources and director general of the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM), said that acting as a powerful supplement to traditional aerial photography, the UAV aerial photography system is characterized by its flexibility, high efficiency, accuracy, low cost and wide application scope.

Furthermore, it has the prominent advantage of rapidly taking HD photos within small areas that are hard for general aerial flights. It will significantly enhance the emergency support service capacity in terms of surveying and mapping and will play a positive role in developing a digital China, monitoring geographic information and improving social-management efficiency.

SBSM will popularize the application of light, fixed-wing UAV aerial photography systems across the country in 2010. The systems will offer a convenient and highly-efficient mapping and surveying means to secure information on the development of digital cities, national emergency disaster relief, national land-monitoring as well as the development of new rural areas.