Using Remote Sensing to Protect Historic Buildings In Urban Construction Zones Part Ii – Maximizing The Value Of The Data
In Part I we outlined the research performed in Dublin, Ireland and Brooklyn, NY using hyper-spectral scanning to help old urban cities protect historically significant buildings during construction. To view Part I as a PDF, click here: Using Remote Sensing to Protect Historic Building in Urban Construction Zones- Part 1
Part II below is an interview with NYU Professor Dr. Laefer who conducted both experiments. She explains how they maximized the value of the data they were able to collect, and her biggest takeaway’s from the demonstrations.
Author: Jackie VanderPol, President
The Fulcrum International, Inc.
Date: January 2021
Maximizing the Value of the Data
In addition to the use of hyper-spectral information for historic building preservation during construction, these types of base maps can be used for many other purposes during construction or for further research such as modeling sun/shadows, urban wind patterns, and disaster response planning. The data is a useful tool for public meetings and project websites, helping the community understand the projects being planned.
The Biggest Takeaways of the Research in
Dublin, Ireland and Sunset Park, NY
An Interview with Dr. Laefer
Question – On Sunset Park, your research proved that you can get much more data on the vertical surfaces and facades of the buildings by creating an optimal flight pattern of 45 degrees instead of the parallel flights. Can you tell us about how you arrived at this conclusion and if there is any added cost or other challenges with this strategy?
Dr. Laefer – Yes, the data we get on the nadir view is largely the same no matter the flight pattern – parallel to the city streets or at any angle. We wanted to show clearly that the facade captures were much better when we flew at a 45-degree (to the streets) flight pattern. Based on our work in Dublin we knew this would be the case. The Sunrise Park flights will allow us to quantify the difference definitively.
As to the cost, the total scanning time was only four hours to conduct the entire experiment, so the general flight time costs of each method were the same. The only increase in time and money was that It took a little more office time for us, together with Tuck Mapping Solutions, to do the flight planning and map out the optimal pattern. Our work differs from typical commercial practice because of the extra overlap, but that cost is fairly negligible in the overall cost as it is only a relatively small increase in the flying time – about 12 percent.
