an integrated rapid mapping system for disaster management

Natural disasters as well as major man made incidents are an increasingly serious threat for civil society. Effective, fast and coordinated disaster management crucially depends on the availability of a real-time situation picture of the affected area. However, in situ situation assessment from the ground is usually time-consuming and of limited effect, especially when dealing with large or inaccessible areas. A rapid mapping system based on aerial images can enable fast and effective assessment and analysis of medium to large scale disaster situations. This paper presents an integrated rapid mapping system that is particularly designed for real-time applications, where comparatively large areas have to be recorded in short time. The system includes a lightweight camera system suitable for UAV applications and a software tool for generating aerial maps from recorded sensor data within minutes after landing. The paper describes in particular which sensors are applied and how they are operated. Furthermore it outlines the procedure, how the aerial map is generated from image and additional gathered sensor data.