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University of North Georgia (ǧÃŬAV) students Christopher Sorrell, Max Darling, and Eric Odum stood in an overgrown, vacant field and watched a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly called a drone, complete its route before two larger drones took flight.

The trio helped Dr. Ali Mehran, assistant professor of earth and geospatial sciences in ǧÃŬAV's Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis, with a survey of 27 acres of land owned by the city of Oakwood, Georgia.

"I saw on the news that Oakwood was planning a development, and I realized that we have the equipment and personnel they would need," Mehran said. "I contacted city officials and they agreed to collaborate."

The goal of city planners is to develop the land between the railroad tracks that run parallel to Railroad Street and Flat Creek Road in Oakwood.

"The blueprints have already been designed for the future buildings," Mehran said. "With our survey, we are going to prepare a 3-D visualization of the future downtown."

Mehran enlisted students from two different classes — Introduction of Unmanned Aerial Systems and Graphics and Information Visualization — to help. The students jumped at the chance to participate.

"After spending two years learning remotely or in a hybrid situation because of COVID-19, getting hands-on experience is very helpful," Sorrell said.

The senior pursuing a degree in environmental and spatial analysis was glad to work outside.

"By doing this project, I can see the practical applications instead of talking about it in a classroom and reading theory about it," he said.

Odum, a junior pursuing a degree in environmental and spatial analysis, is excited to help with the development about a mile from ǧÃŬAV's Gainesville Campus. He said he has executed mapping projects before but not a survey on this scale.

"With this project, we have enough time to develop it and work on something that is going to be useful and productive for the city of Oakwood," the 25-year-old from Between, Georgia, said. "To me, there is nothing better than that."

Mehran explained the survey was the first step of the multiphase project. The first step, though, involved very high-tech and expensive equipment such as the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), Lidar, multi-spectral sensor, and a trio of drones. Darling, a freshman pursuing a degree in film and digital media, was astounded by the drones' sizes.

"I have a drone at home, but when I saw these … I thought 'I'm never going to fly them,'" the 18-year-old from Winder, Georgia, said.

He, Darling and Sorrell helped set up each drone, scanned the skies as it circled the air, collected data, and scribbled down notes from Mehran about possible adjustments. Mehran said this physical work will help the students with their future careers.

"By the end of the fall semester, the students will have completed a 3-D survey project and the city of Oakwood will have all the data and visuals they need for their development," he said.