{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T13:28:53Z","timestamp":1779370133352,"version":"3.53.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,3]],"date-time":"2022-02-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1643846400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Comparing photogrammetric performances of four user-grade unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is the main aim of this paper. This study investigates what is the more suitable UAS for specific applications considering the required scale factor, such as for architectural, environmental and restoration purposes. Some photogrammetric surveys were conducted in a 5 ha area using a Phantom 4 Adv, Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic Air 2 and Mavic Mini 2. These unmanned aircrafts are commercial systems used mainly by private professionals. Some photogrammetric reconstructions were carried out by varying flight altitude and camera settings of the 4 UAS. Structure-from-motion (SfM) algorithms were applied to the images taken from the UASs. The surveys\u2019 quality was analyzed by comparing the ground targets\u2019 coordinates measured on the field with indirect georeferencing through global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Fifty targets were installed and arranged following a kind of regular grid. For each photogrammetric flight, the boundary conditions were maintained the same, as well as the flight trajectories and the ground control point distribution. Altimetric and planimetric residuals were reported and compared for each photogrammetric survey. Using a regular grid of ground targets, the result obtained from Phantom 4 is one order of magnitude better than the ones obtained from the other UASs. Mavic Mini 2 leads to an error average of about 5 cm. Remembering that the Mavic Mini 2 is an ultralight drone (it does not require a pilot\u2019s license), it could significantly reduce costs compared to all the others.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14030726","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,6]],"date-time":"2022-02-06T20:38:40Z","timestamp":1644179920000},"page":"726","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["A Comparative Analysis of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Low Altitude Photogrammetric Surveys"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4146-6443","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Mugnai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via di Santa Marta, 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7657-9723","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grazia","family":"Tucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via di Santa Marta, 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6880","DOI":"10.3390\/rs5126880","article-title":"Using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for high-resolution reconstruction of topography: The structure from motion approach on coastal environments","volume":"5","author":"Mancini","year":"2013","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stott, E., Williams, R.D., and Hoey, T.B. 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