Benjamin Wilkinson

Associate Professor, Geomatics, Photogrammetry and LIDAR

Ben Wilkinson specializes in the collection and processing of data using geospatial sensors, with emphasis on airborne and terrestrial photography, lidar, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). He instructs the undergraduate and graduate courses in Photogrammetry and UAS Mapping.

His research focuses on photogrammetric and lidar methods to support a variety of applications. Ben joined the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences in 2013.

Courses Taught

• Research Interests

  • Photogrammetry
  • Lidar
  • Remote Sensing
  • UAS

• Education

  • PhD, Geomatics, University of Florida
  • MS, Geomatics, University of Florida
  • BS, Geomatics, Minor Computer Science, University of Florida

• Publications

  • Oliveira, L., Lassiter, H., Wilkinson, B., Whitley, T., Ifju, P., Logan, S., Peter, G., Vogel, J., Martin, T. Moving to automated tree inventory: comparison of UAS-derived lidar and photogrammetric data with manual ground estimates (2021). Remote Sensing 13 (1)
  • Lassiter, H., Whitley, T., Wilkinson, B., Abd-Elrahman, A. Scan Pattern Characterization of Velodyne VLP-16 Lidar Sensor for UAS Laser Scanning (2020). Sensors 20 (24).
  • Abd-Elrahman, A., Zhen, G., Dalid, C., Whitaker, V., Britt, K., Wilkinson, B., Gonzalez, A. Automated Canopy Delineation and Size Metrics Extraction for Strawberry Dry Weight Modeling Using Raster Analysis of High-Resolution Imagery (2020). Remote Sensing 12 (21).
  • Pinton, D., Canestrelli, A., Wilkinson, B., Ifju, P., Ortega, A. A new algorithm for estimating ground elevation and vegetation characteristics in coastal salt marshes from high‐resolution UAV‐based LiDAR point clouds (2020). Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
  • Conlin, M., Adams, P., Wilkinson, B., Dusek, G., Palmsten, M., Brown, J. SurfRCaT: A tool for remote calibration of pre-existing coastal cameras to enable their use as quantitative coastal monitoring tools (2020). SoftwareX 12 (12).
  • Corte, A., Souza, D., Rex, F., Sanquetta, C., Mohan, M., Silva, C., Zambrano, A., Prata, G., Almeida, D., Trautenmüller, J., Klauberg, C., Moraes, A., Sanquetta, M., Wilkinson, B., Broadbent, E. Forest inventory with high-density UAV-Lidar: Machine learning approaches for predicting individual tree attributes (2020). Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 179 (12).
  • Benjamin, A., D. O'Brien, G. Barnes, B. Wilkinson and W. Volkmann (2020). Improving Data Acquisition Efficiency: Systematic Accuracy Evaluation of GNSS-Assisted Aerial Triangulation in UAS Operations. Journal of Surveying Engineering 146(1).
  • Espriella, M., V. Lecours, P. Frederick, E. Camp and B. Wilkinson (2020). Quantifying Intertidal Habitat Relative Coverage in a Florida Estuary Using UAS Imagery and GEOBIA. Remote Sensing 12: 1-17.
  • Wilkinson, B., Lassiter, H., Abd-Elrahman, A., Carthy, R., Ifju, P., Broadbent, E., Grimes, N. Geometric Targets for UAS Lidar. Remote Sensing, 11 (24) 2019, 1-20
  • Thomas, O.G, Stallings, C., Wilkinson, B., Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Can Accurately, Reliably, and Economically Compete with Terrestrial Mapping Methods. Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2018-0030
  • Barbour, T., Sassaman, K., Almeyda Zambrano, A., Broadbent, E., Wilkinson, B., Kanaski, R., Rare Pre-Columbian Settlement on the Florida Gulf Coast Revealed through High-Resolution Drone LiDAR. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (47) 2019 23493-23498
  • Benjamin, A., O’Brien, D., Barnes, G., Wilkinson, B., Volkmann, W. Improving Data Acquisition Efficiency: A Systematic Accuracy Evaluation of GNSS-Assisted Aerial Triangulation in UAS Operations. Journal of Surveying Engineering, 2019 146 (1) 2019, 1-15
  • Roberts, J. g, Koeser, A., Abd-Elrahman, A., Hansen, G., Landry, S., Wilkinson, B., Terrestrial Photogrammetric Stem Mensuration for Street Trees. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 35(10), 2018.
  • Wright, W. G, Wilkinson, B., Cropper, W. Development of a GPS Forest Signal Absorption Coefficient Index. Forests, 9(5), 2018.
  • Benjamin, A. g, O’Brien, D., Barnes, G., Wilkinson, B., Volkmann, W. Assessment of Structure from Motion (SfM) Processing Parameters on Processing Time, Spatial Accuracy, and Geometric Quality of Unmanned Aerial System Derived Mapping Products. Journal of Unmanned Aerial Systems 3(1), 2017, pp. 74-100.
  • Thomas, O. G, Wilkinson, B., Smith, C. Economics of Mapping Using Small Manned and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 83(8), 2017, pp. 581-591.
  • Wright, W. G, Wilkinson, B., Cropper, W. Estimating Signal Loss in Pine Forests Using Hemispherical Sky Oriented Photos. Ecological Informatics 38(3), 2017, pp. 82-88.
  • Wilkinson, B., Mohamed, A., and Dewitt, B. Dual-Antenna Terrestrial Laser Scanner Georeferencing Using Auxiliary Photogrammetric Observations. Remote Sensing, 7(9), 2015, pp. 11621-11638.
  • Rodarmel, C., Gilbert, J., Lee, M., Wilkinson, B., Dollof, J., Theiss, H., and O’Neill, C. A Universal Lidar Error Model. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 81(7), 2015, pp. 543-556.
  • Benjamin, A., Mohamed, A. H., and Wilkinson, B. E., Sequential Bundle Adjustment Using Kalman Filtering and Optimal Smoothing, Surveying and Land Information Science, 70(3), 2010, pp. 161-169.
  • Wilkinson, B. E., Mohamed, A. H., Dewitt, B. A., and Seedahmed, G. A., A Novel Approach to Terrestrial LiDAR Georeferencing, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 76(6), 2010, pp. 683-690.
  • Watts, A. C., Perry, J. H., Smith, S. E., Burgess, M. A., Wilkinson, B. E., Szantoi, Z., Ifju, P. G. and Percival, H. F., Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Low-Altitude Aerial Surveys. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 74, 2010, pp. 1614-1619.
  • Mohamed, A. H. and Wilkinson, B. E. Direct Georeferencing of Stationary LiDAR. Remote Sensing 1(4), 2009, pp. 1321-1337.
  • Wilkinson, B. E., Dewitt, B. A., Watts, A. C., Mohamed,, A. H., and Burgess, M. A., A New Approach for Pass-Point Generation from Aerial Video Imagery, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 75(12), 2009, pp. 1415-1423.
  • Watts, A. C., Bowman, W. S., Abd-Elrahman, A. H., Mohamed, A. H., Wilkinson, B. E., Perry, J., Kaddoura, and Y. O., Lee, K., Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) for Ecological Research and Natural-Resource Monitoring (Florida), Ecological Restoration 26(1), 2008, pp. 13-14.