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National Innovation Center

The USGS National Innovation Center (NIC) works with public, private, and non-profit partners in Silicon Valley and elsewhere to design, test, and bring into operation the next generation of technology and engineering tools to help solve the Nation's pressing earth science challenges.

Publications

Mapping river flow from thermal images in approximately real time: Proof of concept on the Sacramento River, California, USA

Image velocimetry has become an effective method of mapping flow conditions in rivers, but this analysis is typically performed in a post-processing mode after data collection is complete. In this study, we evaluated the potential to infer flow velocities in approximately real time as thermal images are being acquired from an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS). The sensitivity of thermal...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Michael Dille, Massimo Vespignani, Uland Wong, Isaac E Anderson, Elizabeth Hyde, Christopher L. Gazoorian, Jennifer Marie Cramer

A framework to facilitate development and testing of image-based river velocimetry algorithms

Image-based methods have compelling, demonstrated potential for characterizing flow fields in rivers, but algorithms like particle image velocimetry (PIV) must be further tested and improved to enable more effective use of these techniques. This paper presents a framework designed for this exact purpose: Simulating Hydraulics and Images for Velocimetry Evaluation and Refinement (SHIVER)...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel

Capturing patterns of evolutionary relatedness with reflectance spectra to model and monitor biodiversity

Biogeographic history can set initial conditions for vegetation community assemblages that determine their climate responses at broad extents that land surface models attempt to forecast. Numerous studies have indicated that evolutionarily conserved biochemical, structural, and other functional attributes of plant species are captured in visible-to-short wavelength infrared, 400 to 2,500...
Authors
Daniel Mark Griffith, Kristin B. Byrd, Lee Anderegg, Elijah Allen, Demetrios Gatziolis, Dar A. Roberts, Rosie Yacoub, Ramakrishna Nemani

Science

BisonCore Project

The BisonCore is a system from the UAS Research Center that adds new and cutting-edge technology to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) uncrewed systems (UxS). The BisonCore is a “Multi‐Role Autonomous Vehicle Augmentation System” specifically designed to accommodate Science Payloads & Missions. The system adds a multitude of capabilities that are not available on either Department of Interior (DOI)...
link

BisonCore Project

The BisonCore is a system from the UAS Research Center that adds new and cutting-edge technology to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) uncrewed systems (UxS). The BisonCore is a “Multi‐Role Autonomous Vehicle Augmentation System” specifically designed to accommodate Science Payloads & Missions. The system adds a multitude of capabilities that are not available on either Department of Interior (DOI)...
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Saucer Shark​ Project

The Saucer Shark is a Magnetometer Payload suspended below an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) to reduce platform induced magnetic noise while maintaining high sensitivity. This payload is an evolution in the geomagnetic sensing realm; boasting a high and adjustable sampling rate, low noise, ease of portability (additionally used as a walking ground survey), real-time data downlink, user interface...
link

Saucer Shark​ Project

The Saucer Shark is a Magnetometer Payload suspended below an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) to reduce platform induced magnetic noise while maintaining high sensitivity. This payload is an evolution in the geomagnetic sensing realm; boasting a high and adjustable sampling rate, low noise, ease of portability (additionally used as a walking ground survey), real-time data downlink, user interface...
Learn More

6th Federal UxS Workshop

6th Federal UxS Workshop September 10-12, 2024 Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, NM
link

6th Federal UxS Workshop

6th Federal UxS Workshop September 10-12, 2024 Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, NM
Learn More
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