Important information for potential applicants to our open Transnational Access Call. Please register your application early and read this information.
MAPEO
MapEO-Water drone data processing
Infrastructure Profile
Infrastructure Provider
Base Location
Mol, Belgium
Organisation & Address
VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
Link to Infrastructure Schedules (if applicable)
NA
Normal Area of Operation
EU coastal and inland waters
Maximum Number of Days Available
56 days
Scientists’ Travel and Logistics (T&L) Budget Available
€ 2,666.67
Overview
Flight Time (with & without payload)
Dependent on platform
Transmission Range
Dependent on platform
Maximum Altitude
Dependent on platform
Dimensions
Dependent on platform
Weight & max take-off weight
Dependent on platform
Weather Limits
Dependent on platform
Surveying Instruments Available
Depends on pilot
From VITO: MicaSense Dual Camera + auxiliary sensors (DLS-2): 30 min flight time for 1 flight with 1 battery (multiple batteries and recharge possible for multiple flights in 1 day)
Scientific and Technical Specifications
General Information
MAPEO Water processing into:
• Water-leaving reflectance
• Turbidity (NTU, FNU)
• Suspended Particulate Matter (mg/L)
• Chlorophyll-a (µg/L)
MAPEO Water processing supports the following hardware
• RGB cameras
• DJI Phantom 4 Pro (version 1)
• Multispectral cameras
• MicaSense RedEdge-M + auxiliary sensors (DLS-1)
• MicaSense RedEdge-M + auxiliary sensors (DLS-2)
• MicaSense Dual Camera + auxiliary sensors (DLS-2)*
• DJI P4 Multispectral
* VITO hardware available for users-on request
Scientific Limitations
Restricted to Coastal and inland waters (1 drone flight of approx. 400 m x 400 m – restricted by visual line of sight; 1 flight day; multiple flights/day)
Support offered to AQUARIUS users
Intake meeting with user.
Training material (guidelines for drone data acquisition, drone deployment and operation, drone data upload tool, sensor integration, operational protocols, interfaces, videos on MAPEO Water workflow, and webinars) for drone pilots and users.
Training of pilots and users.
Final meeting with users to support interpretation and validation of the MAPEO-Water products.
Infrastructure Availability and Contact Details
Year 2025
EU coastal and inland waters. To be discussed at intake meeting.
Year 2026
EU coastal and inland waters. To be discussed at intake meeting.
Year 2027
EU coastal and inland waters. To be discussed at intake meeting.
Contact email for applicants to discuss the initial feasibility of their work while they prepare their application
aquarius[at]vito.be
Certification and Clearance Requirements
Airspace Clearance Requirements
Yes. Depends on drone pilot and country. To be discussed during intake meeting and flight plan preparation.
Diplomatic Clearance Requirements
NA
Additional clearances or documentations required for an area or type of activity
Depends on drone pilot and country. To be discussed during intake meeting and flight plan preparation.
Additional training required
Training is required for quality assurance during drone data acquisition and for Field software tool to upload the drone data. The training will be provided by the Infrastructure Operator (VITO).
Training materials
An introductory webinar recording ‘Monitoring water quality with satellites and drones’ (from 9 Nov 2021) is available at Terrascope website. More webinars are available at Monocle. Tutorial with hands-on training material is available.
Additional links:
- Drone Water Quality Monitoring with MAPEO Water (vito.be)
- Terrascope webinar recording (vimeo): Monitoring water quality with satellites and drones (VITO) https://vimeo.com/644077787
- Terrascope webinar recording (YouTube): Monitoring water quality with satellites and drones (VITO)
- https://youtu.be/wedPxtKRG70
- Geoaquawatch webinar recording (vimeo): MAPEO-water drone-based water monitoring (VITO) https://vimeo.com/403434519
- H2020 Monocle video (YouTube): Drone data in support of water quality monitoring (VITO) https://youtu.be/wedPxtKRG70