Research Committee

About the Committee

Explore pertinent research questions that would benefit its membership; seek research opportunities on development and application of UAS technologies among academia and state/local agencies; and support SCiDUC members with appropriate subject matter expertise.  

Committee Co-Chairs

Jason Lucas:  jlucas2@clemson.edu and Susan Wang:  cwang@mailbox.sc.edu

Lightning Talks

Lightning talks offer brief, succinct overviews of applied research findings and technology case studies. They are meant to disseminate new information in an informal way to the broader drone user community. If you are interested in conducting a lighting talk please contact one of the committee chairs. Click the images below for links to our most current lighting talks.

3D Visualization for Closed Canopy Tree Survey

Susan Wang, University of South Carolina

Drone technology enables 3D visualization for closed-canopy tree survey inventory. At Sweet Bay Pond Dam, Columbia, SC, this talk demonstrates how to extract tree height, crown and species from sUAS orthoimage and point cloud. It briefs the opportunities and challenges of drone-assisted tree surveying

Using Drones to Inspect Bridges

Joe Burgett, Clemson University

Drones are being using by state Dept. of Transportations across the country.  In this lightning talk, Dr. Joe Burgett of Clemson University, talks about a project he did with the SCDOT.  Specifically, he elaborates on how the research team used a drone to inspect the Bates Bridge over the Congaree River.

Emergency COA/eCOA

Stephen Baxley, AIRWORX

The Special Government Interest Group (SGI) is a component of the FAA SOSC that supports true, bonafide, public emergencies that require flight authorizations that would fall outside of Part 107 - or a COA that is already issued to an agency / pilot. We call these Emergency COA or eCOA. The SGI group will grant and approve temporary authorization to help complete the missions