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The continuous advancements in the technology behind Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), in accordance with the
consecutive decrease to their cost and the availability of photogrammetric software, make the use of UAVs an excellent
tool for large scale mapping. In addition with the use of UAVs, the problems of increased costs, time consumption and
the possible terrain accessibility problems, are significantly reduced. However, despite the growing number of UAV
applications there has been a little quantitative assessment of UAV performance and of the quality of the derived
products (orthophotos and Digital Surface Models). Here, we present results from field experiments designed to evaluate
the accuracy of photogrammetrically-derived digital surface models (DSM) developed from imagery acquired with
onboard digital cameras. We also show the comparison of the high resolution vs moderate resolution imagery for largescale
geomorphic mapping. The acquired data analyzed in this study comes from a small commercial and a professional
UAV. The test area was mapped using the same photogrammetric grid by the two UAVs. 3D models, DSMs and
orthophotos were created using special software. Those products were compared to in situ survey measurements and the
results are presented in this paper.
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