Enhancing village-level spatial planning with unmanned aerial vehicles: A comparative study of direct georeferencing and ground control points

Spatial information is critical to supporting the “Precision Village Data” concept, as accurate village-level spatial data enhances governmental decision-making and delivers various benefits. However, acquiring precise spatial data in developing countries such as Indonesia remains challenging due to outdated base maps and inconsistent reference frameworks. In response, Indonesia’s One Map Policy aims to resolve these issues. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as a promising alternative for photogrammetric mapping. Modern UAVs can perform direct georeferencing to attain high levels of mapping accuracy. This study evaluates UAV-based georeferencing techniques for precision mapping in village-level spatial planning as part of implementing Indonesia’s One Map Policy. The novelty of this research lies in the comparative assessment of two UAV-based georeferencing systems (Emlid and Pixhawk) across a village-scale area of 140 hectares—larger than most comparable studies (< 100 hectares)—under identical operational conditions. Specifically, this study compares and evaluates the accuracy of two widely used georeferencing systems: Emlid and Pixhawk. The results indicate that while direct georeferencing without ground control points (GCP) achieves acceptable accuracy for medium-scale mapping, only the Emlid + GCP configuration meets Class I precision standards (< 0.1 m Circular Error at 90%). While using all available GCPs remains critical for high-precision applications, Emlid provides a more practical solution in contexts in which installing numerous GCPs is not feasible. This research contributes to optimizing UAV mapping techniques to meet Class I precision standards (1:5,000-scale maps), thereby supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in rural areas through the implementation of “Precision Village Data”.