Capturing thermal images through drones that will fly over the University of Santiago de Chile, Jairo Herrera Painenao, a student of Land/Geomatics Engineering, will detect possible heat islands in our campus.
His thesis work is entitled “Analysis of thermal images for the detection of possible heat islands at the University of Santiago de Chile”, and his guiding professor is Dr. Marcelo Caverlotti.
“This project arose, among many other factors, from the need of having a research for a thesis, but not just any thesis, rather one that would find a current, contemporary topic and at the same time show practical results that could be applied in our community. ICU fulfilled these demands, besides being extremely important for the integrated development of the Usach,” said the student thesis student.
The use of drones with thermal sensors represents an innovative tool for the study and mitigation of heat islands in urban areas, contributing to create more sustainable and livable cities.
“The operation will enable identifying and mapping the areas most affected by UHIs. The data obtained will provide valuable information on the distribution and intensity of heat islands, facilitating the analysis of the underlying causes, such as building density, lack of vegetation and the type of materials used in constructions,” said Digea academic Dr. Marcelo Caverlotti.
The information gathered will be used to develop mitigation strategies, such as the implementation of green roofs, the creation of green spaces and the improvement of the University's urban planning.
In addition, it will allow university authorities to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures that will be proposed for implementation and adjust their approaches to reduce the impact of UCI on the quality of life of the university community.