Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2022
Keywords
reproducibility; replicability; UAS; remote sensing workflows; photogrammetry
Abstract
Multiple scientific disciplines face a so-called crisis of reproducibility and replicability (R&R) in which the validity of methodologies is questioned due to an inability to confirm experimental results. Trust in information technology (IT)-intensive workflows within geographic information science (GIScience), remote sensing, and photogrammetry depends on solutions to R&R challenges affecting multiple computationally driven disciplines. To date, there have only been very limited efforts to overcome R&R-related issues in remote sensing workflows in general, let alone those tied to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as a disruptive technology. This review identifies key barriers to, and suggests best practices for, R&R in geospatial UAS workflows as well as broader remote sensing applications. We examine both the relevance of R&R as well as existing support for R&R in remote sensing and photogrammetry assisted UAS workflows. Key barriers include: (1) awareness of time and resource requirements, (2) accessibility of provenance, metadata, and version control, (3) conceptualization of geographic problems, and (4) geographic variability between study areas. R&R in geospatial UAS applications can be facilitated through augmented access to provenance information for authorized stakeholders, and the establishment of R&R as an important aspect of UAS and related research design. Where ethically possible, future work should exemplify best practices for R&R research by publishing access to open data sets and workflows. Future work should also explore new avenues for access to source data, metadata, provenance, and methods to adapt principles of R&R according to geographic variability and stakeholder requirements.
Citation
Howe, C., & Tullis, J. A. (2022). Context for Reproducibility and Replicability in Geospatial Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Remote Sensing, 14 (17), 4304. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14174304
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
