Field test of plastic litter assessment by aerial drone visualization techniques | |
| Author | Chathawal Sutrat |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-21-02 |
| Subject(s) | Drone aircraft in remote sensing Plastics--Environmental aspects |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Plastic waste in the ocean is becoming increasingly well-known around the world, as a result, immediate action is required. Imagery survey has been suggested as an alternative way for marine plastic litter monitoring during the last decade. An aerial imagery survey method covers a wider area in a shorter time period than the in-situ visual census method. Aside from that, there are a few facts that are unclear, such as the path of plastic waste from land to sea and the distribution of marine plastic litter. Dumpsite and landfill are the high potential places for plastic waste leakage from land to sea. A significant amount of plastic waste from the dumpsite may be leaked due to many factors, including proximity to canals or rivers, rainy season, and flooding. This study presents the UAVs performance and ideal drone mapping parameters for plastic identification under the various ground surface, the sizes of waste, and flying altitudes on the land-based source. The accuracy of plastic identification for grass and gravel/sand surfaces ranged 0 – 98.12 % and 0 - 97.34 %, respectively, depended on the waste sizes and flying altitudes. The recommended flying altitudes are 20 meters for grass surface and 15 meters for gravel/sand surface. Along with plastic identification, the UAVs products with GNSS system were utilized to estimate the above-ground volume of the dumpsite waste. The above-ground volume of the study dumpsite waste ranged from 93,777.5 – 107,434 m3 with a deviation around 0.82 – 1.67 % depending on the camera angles and the number of ground control points (GCPs). From the result, the suggestion is to use 90-degree camera angle, and GNSS system and GCPs for the volume estimation mission. |
| Year | 2021 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Visvanathan, Chettiyappan |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ekbordin Winijkul;Kavinda Gunasekara |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government Fellowship;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2021 |