Low-Tech” approach as a strategy for effective UAV surveying of landscape and cultural heritage. Experiences from the lab and the field

From 2010 to 2015, the Geographic Research and Application Laboratory (GREAL) of the European University of Rome (UER) conducted tests to verify the applicability of low-tech/low-cost and open source micro/mini-drones to several fields in geographic research. The project in- cluded general landscape surveys and environmental, archaeological and cultural heritage prospections. The work was not primarily focused on UAV technologies per se; rather, it was aimed at achieving a better understanding of the potential of low-tech micro/mini-UAVs in order to improve a geographer’s ability to acquire data. The research was shared by two other scientific partners: ITABC, a department of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the LT-TEKNEHUB centre of the University of Ferrara.