GeoAcuity, ClearSkies Solutions, and USC SSI team up for Catalina Island Collections

(Above) Slideshow documenting the demonstration/training session. First slide shows the GeoAcuity team alongside Trent Casi of Clear Skies Solutions with the Wrigley Institute Sign. Second Slide shows Dr. Jason Knowles and Will Forker from GeoAcuity presenting on remote sensing using UAS’s. Third slide shows the SSCI 587 Graduate Level Spatial Data Collection class along with GeoAcuity and Clear Skies Solutions.

Vertical Take Off of the Wingtra platform as shown by Clear Skies Solutions

(Above) Video demonstrating the Vertical Take-Off ability of the Wingtra UAS Platform.

Dr. Jason Knowles and Will Forker of GeoAcuity prepare to fly Phantom 4 Pro over Wrigley Marina Science Center’s harbor for a graduate student data collection.

September 28th and 29th, 2022 - GeoAcuity traveled to USC’s Wrigley Marine Science Center (WMSC) on Catalina Island to collect data for WMSC and to assist with USC’s Spatial Sciences Institutes Graduate-Level Spatial Data Acquisition course (SSCI 587). Additionally, Trent Casi of Clear Skies Solutions joined to demonstrate Wingtra’s newest VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) drone platform for those in attendance. The trip involved multiple flights from the Wingtra platform as well as senseFly’s eBee X covering all of the WMSC campus, with both RGB and Multi-spectral sensors. Additionally, USC SSI 587 students who needed other specialty UAS collects (kelp mapping and underwater bathymetry) were supported by GeoAcuity with data collection and training utilizing the Phantom 4 Pro platform.

The data collected was intended to serve both the SSCI 587 graduate students and to add to the temporal stack of data coverage for the WMSC campus that has been ongoing biannually on since 2017. The WMSC study area data from this and previous trips is stored on USC ICT’s Open GeoData Hub an initiative promoting free and accessible data for the WMSC research campus.