Natural color sensors operate in the visible light range of the electromagnetic spectrum

Natural color sensors, also called electro-optical (EO) or red-green-blue (RGB), operate in the visible light range of the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e., the wavelengths that the human eye can detect.

Natural color image taken from a UAS-mounted sensor of the lava flow near fissure 8 of the Lower East Rift Zone during the 2018 Kilauea volcano eruption (top). 

Natural color image of Corral Bluffs in Colorado taken from a sensor mounted on a UAS (bottom).

A fully integrated natural color sensor is included with most UAS platforms, but there is a wide range of other UAS-compatible light-weight inexpensive full-motion video (FMV) or single-lens reflex models available. Since the imagery collected by UAS-mounted natural color sensors most closely represents what would be seen by the naked eye it’s a valuable tool for real-time monitoring. It provides overlapping image data that can be combined with surveyed ground control points (GCPs) and processed using photogrammetry software to produce high-resolution products like orthophotos, 3D point clouds, and digital elevation models.