Scholar Farms Rapid Response Drone Data Online Masterclass

Gregory Crutsinger (PhD) and team have released an online masterclass called Rapid Response Drone Data, built from experiences and lessons learned while drone mapping in the aftermath of California wildfires, available now.

San Francisco, CA.  Scholar Farms, a drone educational consultancy that produces state-of-the-art video training materials for drone mapping, today released their second online masterclass called Rapid Response Drone Data. This course teaches how to capture and process drone data quickly during an emergency or disaster. It was built to meet the growing needs of many agencies and organizations that are adopting drone technology but find it hard to achieve the data results they need during high-pressure situations such as storms, earthquakes, and wildfires.

The instructor, Dr. Gregory Crutsinger, has coordinated drone data capture and processing for inter-agency public safety drone teams for three of the most devastating wildfires in California history.

Greg explains, “Anyone who has worked on a drone team during one of these disasters realizes pretty fast that drone hardware and safe piloting are only part of the job. The major bottleneck is in dealing with the huge volume of information being produced. Rapid Response Drone Data was built to train a new generation of drone data analysts how to coordinate, capture, process, and deliver drone data to all stakeholders involved as swiftly as possible.”

The course was designed around off-the-shelf drone hardware and mapping software. It contains over 100 video lectures covering theory, practical applications, and lessons learned from the field. Example datasets and labs provide hands-on experience in data processing; drone ownership is not required. Cheat sheets and resource guides cover everything from pre-planning for a disaster to options for hardware/software. The course is designed for all skill levels.

Deputy Sheriff Rick Hassna, chief pilot for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, had this to say about the course instructor: “Greg has worked right alongside our team during these devastating wildfires, keeping a level head and applying all his skillset from his industry and academic experience to assist the impacted communities in Northern California. He is one of the best out there to train on the data side.”

The course is available for $397 from at ScholarFarms.com