Unmanned aerial map of Peru ruins

Archaeologists in Peru are looking to use a US drones to survey ancient Andean ruins.

The device can fit into a backpack, which will be tested later this month at the ruins of the Spanish colonial town Mawchu Llacta, dating from the 16th century and located at 4,100 meters seawater.

The Skate Small Unmanned Aerial System will take just 10 minutes to map the ruins with as large as 25 football pitches, saving you months of work.

Andean ruins

"Mawchu Llacta, with its good looks and architecture, has become the ideal case study," said anthropologist Steven Wernke and engineering professor Julie Adams of Vanderbilt University.

"But the scale and complexity of the ruins have prompted us to use a new approach to mapping." The unmanned aerial solution seems most appropriate, News about vertical structures and walls in a quick and detailed way. "

Researchers want to test Skate in a variety of environments and have developed software that enables fast data acquisition and processing to provide a cost-effective, easy-to-use solution for surveying. neck.

So far, unmanned aerial vehicles have been used primarily for military operations, but it has also been used in civilian areas such as tracking global warming and helping to cope with disasters.

If the operation is successful, the system will be able to provide 3D mapping tools for the ruins and help build a large electronic library for researchers.