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A detailed and clear point cloud output of a UAV survey of the Faroe Islands.
map is available for free download as an openaccess resource.
Keeping pace with the latest in mapping One important lesson for Umhvørvisstovan has been that sharing experiences with other drone pilots is an effective way to learn and stay prepared for unforeseen challenges. In this context, the small team of geospatial professionals of the Faroe Islands have close relations with other drone pilots – especially in the Nordic countries. Within this network of drone pilots, they meet up to discuss challenges, help one another with issues and share how their country works in terms of mapping and other matters.
A comprehensive view of Svínoy rendered in Pix4Dmatic software.
The Umhvørvisstovan team are keen to keep pace with the possibilities that new technology brings, and they regard participation at conferences within the mapping and GIS industry as another valuable way of learning about the latest trends and developments. Despite the isolated location, the Faroe Islands’ communication infrastructure is very modern. Therefore, in today’s technological era in which information travels at lightning speed, it is relatively easy for the team to stay up-to-date on the state-of-the art in mapping, and they will no doubt perform many more successful mapping projects in the future.
Acknowledgements It would not have been possible to write
this article without the tremendous help of Andreas Klein Arnbjerg, a drone pilot at Umhvørvisstovan.
Further reading Map of Svínoy and the other islands of the Faroe archipelago: www.foroyakort.fo.
Mobile mapping with... sheep! A couple of years ago, the Faroe Islands archipelago was one of the few places not available in Google Street View. As Google seemed to have no intention of mapping the Faroe Islands for the foreseeable future, an employee of the Visit Faroe Islands tourist board came up with her own solution. Instead of ‘Street View’, she arranged for a local shepherd and his sheep to produce ‘Sheep View 360’ by attaching cameras to the sheep to capture the environment as they moved around. Since the islands are populated by more sheep than people, this mobile mapping solution was brilliant in its simplicity. Upon hearing about the Sheep View project, Google responded enthusiastically and supplied the Faroe Islands with a Street View Trekker and 360-degree cameras. This enabled residents and tourists to assist the sheep in capturing images of the beautiful archipelago. Thanks to those efforts, Google Street View now includes the Faroe Islands. More info: www.62n.fo/travel/en/faroe-islands/ faroe-islands-in-the-media/sheepview-360
About the author
The island of Borðoy as seen from a drone’s perspective. The image shows a sunny view of the town of Klaksvik in the summer.
Wim van Wegen is head of content at GIM International. In his role, he is responsible for the print and online publications of one of the world’s leading geomatics trade media brands. He is also a contributor of columns and feature articles, and often interviews renowned experts in the geospatial industry.
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