A critical evaluation of the use of an inexpensive camera mounted on a recreational unmanned aerial vehicle as a tool for landslide research

This letter offers a critical evaluation of the use of an inexpensive camera mounted on a recreational unmanned aerial vehicle as a tool for landslide research. The constructed 3D surface models are compared to those generated using a DSLR camera, Total Station and Terrestrial Laser Scanning. It is shown that the investigated approach has considerable potential despite the fact that its performance was slightly inferior to the other methods. This was demonstrated also in a real case study of a small shallow landslide. Nonetheless, in order to assess the real accuracy and precision of the constructed models, it is emphasised that the operator should still have a basic knowledge of the principles of photogrammetry.