UAS team deployed to aid in train derailment

This morning the Amtrak Vermonter train derailed in Northfield, VT. Responding to a request from the Vermont Agency of Transportation, we immediately deployed one of our Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) teams to the area. We promptly set up a launch site, coordinated the acquisition area with disaster management officials, and then conducted UAS flight operations.

Train derailment site.

Within 60 minutes of us arriving on site we had transferred a KML file to the incident commanders that contained over 280 photos of the derailment site and the surrounding area, each tied to a location on the ground.

Train derailment imagery displayed in Google Earth. Each one of the white push-pins shows the location of a photo taken by the UAS. Clicking on one of the push-pins opens up the corresponding photo. Follow the link above to download the KML file.

The UAS we use, the senseFly eBee, is specifically designed to acquire mapping-grade data. Each photo is geotagged during the flight, enabling us to generate a KML file containing all the images upon landing. This allows us to provide the response teams with imagery that is comprehensive, tied to a location on the ground, and easy to display using the freely available Google Earth. Upon returning to our lab we processed the imagery to create a seamless orthophotomosaic (JPEG 2000 format), which can be loaded into GIS software for mapping, measuring, and integration with other mapped data. Although other assets were able to acquire overhead imagery and video, our UAS team provided a unique capability in that we were the only ones able to produce GIS-ready products suitable for mapping.

Image mosaic of the acquisition area displayed using GIS software.

Thanks to funding from the Department of Transportation, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the USDA Forest Service, and AmericaView we have been able to transform what began as a research project into an operational asset, capable of rapidly responding to incidents across the state. This marks the third time our UAS team has deployed for disaster response and came right after we had participated in a joint federal disaster training exercise. In the past year we put a tremendous amount of effort into building the operational capacity. This has included everything from developing detailed flight checklists to the extensive training of our personnel. The effort clearly paid off.