Student project provides real world time-savings for NSW flood management agencies

Work experience projects undertaken by Charles Sturt University computer imaging students in the wake of widespread flooding in NSW during 2021, offered time-saving practical applications for flood management agencies. Work experience placements were undertaken with the NSW Department of Customer Service (DCS) Spatial Services group.

It is a standard practice for Spatial Services to fly an aircraft over flood-affected regions to collect aerial images. These images are then passed to a specialist for processing, to stitch the images together and perform corrections to counter the impacts of the earth’s curvature and aircraft motion.

Our students devised a way to automate the process involving machine learning models, reducing the time required to perform image conversions from two days to two hours, improving the accuracy of the information, and consolidating work being duplicated across multiple government agencies. This will provide a major benefit to agencies operating in the face of increased storm frequency and intensity due to climate change, help to accelerate the process of agencies supporting community recovery efforts, and aid in planning for future events.

The collaboration provided the students with access to subject matter experts across various areas, with the outcomes providing benefits for Spatial Services and the community.