Wounded Eagle (WE) UAS Inc., a veteran run non-profit organization that trains disabled veterans to become experienced and skilled FAA Part 107 UAS operators, has announced that with help from its student UAS operators, it completed aerial mapping of VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System's (VAGLAHS) 388-acre VA West Los Angeles Medical Center (WLA) campus.

WE used a UAS and UAS mapping software to capture thousands of images of WLA. The images were stitched together to make a three zone orthomosaic map. WE also created 3D renderings of several historical buildings including the Wadsworth Chapel and Brentwood Theater.

“A truly great opportunity was given to Wounded Eagle UAS by the VA,” says Joseph Dorando, the team lead and remote pilot in charge of UAS operations.

“Our student teams are all disabled veterans and to provide them the capability to learn how to make maps using UAS was a real experience for them and gave them the confidence to do more and go beyond.”

Together, WE and the VAGLAHS Emergency Management Office documented existing facilities and created high-resolution imagery of the entire campus for historical purposes.

The image collections were divided into three zones with the option to merge all three collections together to make one large orthomosaic photogrammetric map of the campus. The resolution is .5 cm per pixel, which allows users to zoom in and view fine details of the buildings such as individual rooftop tiles.