An End-to-End Pipeline for Acquiring, Processing, and Importing UAS Data for Use in the Open Data Cube (ODC)

Collecting data via small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) can fill a niche amongst geospatial data collection methods by providing recent, very high-resolution imagery, at a fraction of the cost of space-based providers. We detail an end-to-end system for acquiring, processing, and importing data into the Open Data Cube (ODC), a free and open-source geospatial data management and analysis platform. The process employs third party software that can be low-cost or free. The acquisition component of our pipeline consists of low-cost drones, either assembled with commodity components, or available from retail stores to enable the community at large to better take advantage of UASs as a reliable data collection platform. We discuss a selection of third-party photogrammetry suites which output assembled images into tiles that can be indexed by the ODC. Finally, we demonstrate the indexing of orthographic drone data into the Open Data Cube.