The flagship tools of MAPlab are without a doubt drones, of which it now has a good fleet. Among all, the Mavic 2 Dual Enterprise equipped with two sensors, RGB and thermal, is the most versatile drone, thanks to it as well as being able to do photogrammetry (a technique that allows you to return georeferenced 3D models starting from images) we can monitor the thermal state of craters and fractures. Another great advantage of this drone lies in its small size and low weight which allow it to be transported comfortably inside a backpack.
We were recently contacted by Jcobs University Bremen for a collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency), in July they will come to Etna to test a series of rovers that will land and will have to take lunar samples using a mechanical arm. The drones will be piloted remotely by an astronaut who will not be at the sampling site. The topographic base used during the tests was provided by MAPlab, it was created thanks to a Phantom 4 RTK drone. They also asked for our logistical support during operations, including for the performance assessment that will be done flying over the test area.
The Cartography Laboratory is made up of Cristina Proietti technologist and GIS expert, Massimo Cantarero technician, drone pilot and instructor and expert designer, and finally me, Emanuela De Beni expert GIS researcher and country geologist, coordinator of the laboratory activities.