Archeologists plan to use small U.S. drone to map Mawchu Llacta ruins in Peru

08-11-2012 • http://www.rawstory.com, By Agence France-Presse

Archeologists in Peru plan to use a US-made drone to survey ancient Andean ruins, in the latest civilian application of the unmanned aerial vehicles used to hunt militants in the world’s war zones.

The device, which can fit in a backpack, is due to be tested later this month at the ruins of the 16th-century Spanish colonial town Mawchu Llacta, some 13,450 feet (4,100 meters) above sea level.

The Skate Small Unmanned Aerial System will take only about 10 minutes to map the massive site the size of 25 football fields, saving the researchers months of time-consuming cataloging, they said.

“Mawchu Llacta, with its exceptionally well-preserved layout and architecture, provides an ideal case study,” anthropologist Steven Wernke and engineering professor Julie Adams of Vanderbilt University told AFP in an email.