Drone helps prepare map of Aegean town

MUĞLA - Doğan News Agency

The project in Datça was this was the first photogrammetric project using drones for mapping and the drones were used for only one week. DHA photo

Turkey has used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in mapping for the first time in an Aegean town.

Drones, which are generally used for martial purposes, were used to map the southwestern province of Muğla’s Datça town over an area of 2,040 hectares in seven villages.

The project was completed in three months with the financial support of the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning.

Hamdi Üncü, the district governor of Datça, said mapping was urgently needed for those seven villages and they successfully completed the project in less time than expected.

Üncü said 314,000 Turkish Liras were spent for the mapping and that using UAVs was much cheaper, faster and more accurate.

Project holder Union Map’s coordinator, Seyfettin Özyurt, said this was the first photogrammetric project using drones for mapping and the drones were used for only one week. With the rest of the process it took three months to finalize the maps.

“Turkey has been using airplanes for mapping, but now we can produce better maps with lower costs by using drones,” Özyurt said.

The maps are said to be used for determining unlicensed constructions and forested lands.