Ambiental has been involved in pioneering research which uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to image areas at risk of flooding. Aerial surveys can occur pre-emptively, as well as during and directly after a flood event. By using UAVs, as opposed to light aircraft, it is possible to capture high resolution images of the areas affected for flood extent delineation and damage assessments. Furthermore, elevation models can be generated through the use of stereo images. These images which are created by measuring the displacement of neighbouring images of the same building.

In December, 2015, Justin Butler of Ambiental attended a National Environmental Resources Council [NERC] Climate Change Sandbox meeting. These events facilitate collaborations between private companies and university researchers, and Justin assembled a consortium of industry specialists. From this fateful meeting a partnership was formed between Ambiental and several Universities. The project aimed to explore the feasibility of using UAVs to image flood zones, and then using this data for flood science research and to develop commercial usage cases. Click here for more information