Hanno Truter kept busy in the month of August attending the Advances in Geomatics Research Conference in Kampala, Ugunda and the the Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe’s Annual Conference Harare, Zimbabwe.
5th Biennial Advances in Geomatics Research Conference
The Department of Geomatics and Land Management of Makerere University in Kampala Uganda hosted the 5th biennial Advances in Geomatics Research Conference from the 1st – 2nd August 2019. This year’s theme was Geomatics for Development.
Microdrones had a presence at the conference and Hanno presented on the “The Use of drones in Precision Agriculture.” In this presentation, he examined UAV Applications using mdMapper accessories in agriculture for Crop Monitoring, Chemical Application and Land Management.
UAVs are fitted with the multispectral cameras, like the Micasense RedEdge Sensor, which has two sensors, one facing the plants capturing the light they reflect in five bands: blue, green, red, red edge, near-IR. The other sensor, the sunshine sensor, records the intensity of the light emanating from the sun in these five same bands of light. The Sensor allows you to:
- Monitor nutrients, moisture levels and overall vigor
- Identify and measure crop issues like disease, pest problems, weeds, and water-stress
- Estimate yields
- Characterize soil and vegetative cover
- Use data for predictive analysis
The conference was attended by well over 100 delegates from all over central Africa and is aimed at giving participants the opportunity to share their work on how they have appropriated different Geomatics perspectives in addressing the current development challenges facing the region.
The Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe’s Annual Conference
Recently Hanno Truter also attended the Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe’s Annual Conference with our distributor Optron.
The AMSZ's annual conference was held on August 15 & 16 at The Crown Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe. The theme was "Transforming and Integrating Mine Surveyors' Education and Competency for a Rapidly Changing Mining Industry."
The AMSZ has embarked on a drive to consolidate and integrate academic qualifications and professional skills, to comply with the Zimbabwe National Qualifications Framework (ZNQF).
The Association of Mine surveyors brings together Mine Surveyors and all the relevant stakeholders from Zimbabwe and neighboring countries, to annual conferences, such as this one, so that they can discuss, network and chart a roadmap for the future of the profession as well as craft best practices to achieve the intended goals to best serve the industry at large.
This year’s conference was attended by over 50 delegates from the private mining sector and government institutions. Presentations from 9 speakers were presented on various topics from ranging from survey equipment, software and UAVs. Presenters were from Microdrones, Trimble (OPTRON), Southern Mapping, Rocket Mine Drone Company (UAV Service Provider), Leica GeoSystems, Hexagon Mining, AFGEN, VI-Instruments and Drone Solutions.
At the event, Hanno presented information on the mdMapper1000DG and the benefits of Direct
Georeferencing. The mdMapper1000DG captures multiple data streams , namely: imagery, GPS, and inertial. Fusing those streams of data results in a variety of mapping products. This allows for fast, accurate, and robust data processing that yield quality mapping products.
Some of the benefits include:
- Reduce or eliminate your need to install GCPs.
- Drastically reduce time spent on post-processing and data collection, thanks to an impressively decreased side lap.
- Access hard-to-reach or dangerous sites without risking human injury.
- Improve your efficiency with industry-leading flight times and resilience to harsh environmental conditions.
If you’re interested in learning more about the mdMapper1000DG and other integrated systems from Microdrones, click here to contact one of our friendly representatives.