Virginia Tech will host an introductory-level workshop titled Remote Sensing Using ArcGIS Pro targeted to geospatial, planning, and natural resource professionals and others associated with local governments, planning development commissions, state and federal agencies, nongovernmental associations, private industry, and academia.

“Aerial sensors, whether acquired from drones, manned aircraft, or satellites, provide unique perspectives and information that are vital to an array of application needs that span local, regional, state, and federal mission areas,” said John McGee, associate professor in the College of Natural Resources and Environment’s Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation and coordinator of the Virginia Geospatial Extension Program.

“Often, collected imagery requires processing before it can be used effectively,” he continued. “This workshop provides hands-on instruction on data acquisition options; image display and interpretation; and image enhancement, classification, and other processing techniques.”

The same two-day curriculum will be offered in Williamsburg, Virginia, on Aug. 5-6 and in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Aug. 14-15.

This is a comprehensive workshop that provides start-to-finish processes associated with remote sensing using ArcGIS Pro. While Landsat imagery will be utilized, the skills learned are applicable to other sensor/data platforms, such as Sentinel, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), and the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP).

Workshop topics include the following:

  • Manipulate data in ArcGIS Pro.
  • Obtain and display Landsat data.
  • Display image data from Landsat or other remote sensing platforms (including orthoimagery [VBMP], Sentinel, and sUAS derived imagery).
  • Save and export maps.
  • Create composite images.
  • Subset images.
  • Enhance and analyze remotely sensed imagery using various techniques (radiometric enhancement, supervised and unsupervised classification, etc.).

This is an intensive yet introductory-level workshop. Previous knowledge of ArcGIS Desktop (or other GIS software) is desired, but previous experience using ArcGIS Pro is not required.

Due to partial sponsorship by VirginiaView, the registration fee for the Williamsburg workshop is discounted to $150; the registration fee for the Blacksburg workshop is $300. The cost of the workshop includes instruction, materials, resources, and breaks (lunch is not included). Online registration is required at https://tinyurl.com/RSwithArcGISPro. Space is limited, so registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The workshop is sponsored by the Virginia Geospatial Extension Program in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech’s Conservation Management Institute, the Geospatial Technician Education–Unmanned Aircraft System (GeoTEd-UAS) project team, and VirginiaView.

For additional information, email John McGee or Stacey Kuhar.

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