UAVs surpassing satellites and aircraft in remote sensing over China

Many users are now showing strong interest in UAV RS (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing) due to its easy accessibility. UAVs have become popular platforms for remote sensing data acquisition. In a number of practical and time constrained circumstances, UAV RS data have been widely used as a substitute for traditional satellite remote sensing data. However, airspace-related regulations are far behind the rapid growth in the number of UAVs and their wide applications. Much effort of the network-based UAV RS have been made by the UAV RS group of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGSNRR, CAS), which proposed the concept of UAV RS data carrier. UAV RS data carrier refers to UAV RS data platform with task planning, data storage, image processing, product generation and output products for various UAVs. An ongoing effort to create a nationwide UAV RS network in addition to an existing ground observational network is being carried out in China.