Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are one of the most game-changing technologies to appear in recent years. They are a hot topic of discussion and the subject of some debate. One of the fastest growing applications for drones is UAV surveying, since land surveyors can use these devices to quickly and efficiently survey large areas. In this post, we take a look at the rise of UAVs, which industries are embracing the technology, and how UAVs are changing the world of land surveying.
The Origins of UAVs Surveying
When this idea of UAVs first surfaced, the military was using the concept to identify mines in Afghanistan. Tudor Thomas, an aerial-imagery specialist behind the concept, took his knowledge and transformed it into a lucrative business model.
Using the single-frame images from the photos, Thomas and his team developed software to correct those images, blending them into a single consumable. Known as orthorectification, this process created a geo-referenced map though real-world location data based on the GPS reading of ground control points.
UAV Adoption
Some of the earliest adopters of commercial drone technology include businesses in agriculture, energy, construction and land management. Most of these industries have been experimenting with UAV technology for years. However, now that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been issuing Section 333 status to businesses, which allows them to legally use drones for commercial purposes, these industries have started to include UAVs as part of their service offering.
Here are some facts about drone technology adoption:
Most growth in the drone industry is on the commercial side, as drones move away from being primarily in the military market. This market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% between 2015 and 2020, compared to 5% growth on the military side.
Package delivery and E-commerce will not be an early focus of the drone industry.
Disaster relief and conservation experts welcome drone mapping as an alternative to satellite imagery.
The global commercial drone market will take shape around applications among a number of industries such as utilities, mining, energy, agriculture, real estate, new media, construction and film production.
How UAVs are Changing Land Surveying
Land surveying is one industry that has been particularly keen to adopt UAVs. There are three main reasons for this:
UAV technology allows land surveyors to survey large areas with ease. Challenges such as rough terrain become effortless when the survey is done with a UAV.
Since the drone is airborne and does not need to drive from point to point in order to perform a scan, it can survey a territory in significantly less time than a traditional survey. This means that projects that once took a week can be completed in a day.
Because surveys created by a UAV can be done quickly and don’t take as many man-hours or resources to complete, they are less expensive. Since many of the industries that typically need land surveys (energy, real estate, etc.) are constantly looking for ways to reduce costs, this is particularly important.
Thanks to advances in photogrammetry, these surveys can not only be done quickly and inexpensively, they can also be done with the same level of accuracy as traditional surveys. This means there is no real trade-off in accuracy with a UAV generated survey.
Because of the above reasons, UAVs are a game-changer for professional land surveyors and a benefit to their customers. While few surveyors have access to the technology, and fewer still have experience using it, the technology can still be a huge benefit for construction projects. Project managers simply need to partner with a professional land surveyor that does have experience using UAVs.
February 25, 2016
Image source: development seed
Construction is one of the world's biggest industries, worth about $8.5 trillion a year. However, it is far from the most efficient. In 2016, McKinsey & Company reported that large construction projects of all types take longer than scheduled by 20 percent on average and frequently cost almost twice the budgeted amount.
Effectiveness isn't getting any better, either. Construction productivity is surprisingly lower than it was even in the 1990s. Inefficiencies and sub-optimal production processes erode profit margins for projects big and small.
The construction industry accounts for 25 to 40 percent of America's solid-waste stream. Purchasing and scheduling challenges lead to 15 percent of materials ordered by construction sites ultimately ending up in landfills. In comparison, disposable straws only account for one percent of landfill waste.
In 2018, new technology has begun disrupting standards of operations and making construction more efficient and sustainable. Industry leaders are implementing new technology such as aerial drones in construction to reduce costs while improving site efficiency, maximizing the profit potential while decreasing the impact and waste from each project.
Drone Technology in Construction
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are a rising trend among many industries. Today, the impact of drone technology on the digital transformation of the construction industry is undeniable. What started as a recreational toy or novelty camera has quickly become a competitive advantage for those willing to deploy it to their benefit.
Drones can do much more than produce high definition images. Scanning with drones can yield many kinds of useful data. These tools can use add-on equipment such as infrared, geo-locating and thermal sensors to assist in mapping construction sites and modeling construction projects. The footage captured can be converted into 3D models with real-world conditions incorporated, allowing for better iteration, higher feasibility and more accurate bids during the pre-construction phase.
Some of the significant advantages of incorporating UAV technology include:
Reduced process and analysis times
Less risk and consequently lower costs
More precise digital data to allow for more accurate readings
Easy accessibility via cloud-based integration
More seamless jobsite progress monitoring
Specifically, drones have impacted the construction industry by:
Enabling better construction site monitoring
Calculating stockpile volume and material types for inventory
Calculating length, width and elevation for roads and structures
Annotating images and maps for easier communication
Calculating overburden to plan for an efficient removal
Drones are taking an essential place in the construction process and are only increasing in popularity and functionality. Creative site managers are continually finding new applications for drone technology on construction sites.
Why Drones Are Being Incorporated so Quickly
Before the use of drone technology in construction, there was a disconnect between viewing a rendering of a job site versus seeing it in reality. Drone technology has revolutionized the way stakeholders view a site and visualize a completed project and allows for much more careful analysis of progress during construction.
1. Drones Make Your Company More Competitive
Drones have gained traction so quickly because of the competitiveness of the construction industry. Companies using UAV technology have a competitive advantage over other companies that are less innovative and sticking to traditional ways of surveying and analyzing job sites. Incorporating drone technology in your projects can be an enticing sales tool that may make the difference between a lead and a customer.
2. Drones Provide Additional Data
They also can add value to the customer during handover. Providing the client with visual data on the as-built condition of the building allows them to better manage and maintain the property after you've finished your work. Having this kind of information on file also reduces the chance of litigation and can be used as a defensive tool.
3. Drones Help You Monitor Progress
UAVs help you and the project owner visualize the completed job and see how the work is going every step of the way. Construction can be a time-consuming endeavor, and it's not always easy to communicate to a client where exactly your time and their money go. Drones negate that uncertainty by allowing careful observation throughout the entire process.
4. Drones Are Cost-Saving
Drones are also a huge cost-saver across many different expense types. As an owner of a construction business, you're able to monitor a job site live and take note of suspicious activity such as theft or wasted time. You're also able to invoice more accurately by performing more quality inspections of work completed.
5. Drones Protect Your Crew
Your team can use the surveillance to check locations for assets and materials, rather than moving about the construction site, unsure if equipment and resources are where they are supposed to be. You can also use the drone to check dangerous areas remotely without risking harming the crew.
6. Drones Condense Data
While the drones themselves have been increasing in quality, so has the software that drives them. Advanced fleet management technologies reduce the work it takes to operate a single drone by enabling several fleets to work together throughout a job site and return all relevant information gathered back to the construction team. Software improvements allow for businesses to scale their company's operations more quickly while being able to manage more drones at once and make use of them in more locations.
Overall, UAVs minimize the amount of needless work and increase efficiency due to more careful monitoring of the construction process. Mistakes will be caught much earlier and can be corrected before they escalate into a more troublesome problem. With all these advantages, it's obvious why UAV technology has been implemented so quickly.
Some Drawbacks of Current Drone Technology
While drones provide various advantages for your construction company, they aren't without some drawbacks to consider.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented a mandatory registration of all UAVs before flight to receive a certification that allows operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in construction legally. Failure to comply can result in penalties of from $27,500 to $250,000 and imprisonment. Specific restrictions may also be in place depending on the state you reside.
Other countries have similar policies in place, and new ones are being developed. If you consider implementing land surveying technology at your construction site, be sure to investigate what restrictions you have in your area.
Although drones are unmanned aircraft, they still require a human to operate, and reckless or amateur control of these aerial vehicles in construction can cause collisions resulting in personal injury and property damage that leaves you liable. An often-overlooked additional cost of UAVs is better insurance to help cover these risks and minimize loss caused by accidents. Ensuring drones are being piloted safety is important to avoid bringing harm to your crew and cost you extra money.
Where Drone Technology Is Going in the Construction Industry
Regulation
As drones become more popular, the question of how to regulate and manage their use will be a topic of debate.
In October of 2017, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA introduced a plan to better regulate and utilize this new technology. The program intends to get the federal government, local authorities, tribal governments and private companies all working together on drone rules. This collaboration should make it easier for companies to test drones, go beyond the view of operators and fly over people's heads.
Thermal Imaging
Thermal imaging is a priority in drone development. This advance allows the drone's camera to detect infrared radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing precise mapping of numerous structures, landscapes and equipment.
Thermal imaging can help examine pipelines, solar panels, power grids and roofs for leaks, overheating, failure and proper insulation. Thermal UAVs also can help in dire situations if you have a worker trapped in heavy smoke or fog who needs assistance. These types of drones can spot living beings through almost any non-physical visibility barrier.
More automation is sure to come as well. Artificial intelligence is growing smarter and being implemented on more devices. But what does AI mean for drones? Drone mapping is going to become more seamless, allowing your drone to spot trends in the behavior to tell it to do, and eventually be able to utilize its abilities without manually scheduling flights.
Streaming
Recording and streaming drone footage to the internet will also become more common and will allow for more transparency within the operations going on throughout any job, which will increase the customer's trust and prevent roadblocks you may have experienced by correcting your strategy in the future.
We will likely see even more innovative drone applications in the construction industry in the future.
What to Consider When Purchasing a Drone for Your Construction Site
When comparing construction drone technology companies and deciding which model to invest in, you should consider a few different elements:
1. Camera Quality
The higher the resolution of the camera used by a drone, the better the quality of the image you are going to get. High definition images are necessary for some features and software to work correctly, so to get the best utility out of a UAV, you'll need a good camera.
2. Portability
How easy it is to take your drone from place to place varies in importance depending on its application. If the drone is going to be in one location for extended amounts of time, then portability may not be the most significant factor in your purchasing decision. However, if you think you'll be continuously cycling your drones through different construction sites, you'll want to be sure that the drone isn't too heavy, and you might even want to be able to reduce its size by folding it into a compact form.
3. Durability
Can the drone stay pristine in typical construction site environments that tend to have a lot of dirt and dust being tossed about? If your drone can't stand up to the elements and inevitable wear and tear, it is not worth the investment no matter how advanced the technology is inside.
4. Stability
Stability deals with wind speed resistance and how well your UAV can stay centered while being operated in rough conditions with a lot of air movement or rain. Consider what kind of hazards you face on your typical job sites and make a drone selection based on what appears to be best equipped to deal with those hazards and still produce a high-quality image no matter what the weather entails.
5. Ease of Use
Find out whether the drone comes ready-to-fly out of the box. If you must buy a modular camera, how easy will it be to install? You'll also want to know if the drone includes any chargers or what other add-ons you might need. These are all questions that you must ask yourself regarding the ease of using your drone. There are certainly some drones that make the installation and operation easier than others.
Keeping these five aspects in mind when shopping for reputable drone companies and devices will help you make a favorable decision on the best drones for construction sites.
June 7, 2018
Commercial drone use on the job site is skyrocketing. The latest drone trends and statistics from DroneDeploy explain why.
This past year, more than 30,000 users put DroneDeploy to work creating the largest drone data repository — now with over 400,000 maps of job sites, farms, and structures. Our growth is a testament to the growing community of commercial drone users.
While dozens of industries use drones, the fastest growing commercial adopter is the construction industry. Drone use on the job site has skyrocketed in the last year — surging 239% — and construction is now the leading sector using DroneDeploy.
With growth like that, you probably have some questions. How are companies putting drones to work? Who exactly is benefiting from drone data? And what are the results?
In this post, we share some recent insights uncovered from analyzing the latest DroneDeploy user data. Read on to get the most recent trends and statistics from drone data captured on 400,000 job sites in 180 countries.
Who’s Using Drones on the Job Site?
We talk a lot about what’s possible with drones on our blog, but who is actually taking advantage of the technology?Project managers, technology managers, and superintendents are the top roles benefiting from drone data to date.
It’s no surprise that project managers are leading the charge to bring drones to the job site. The typical project runs over budget, behind schedule. Drones help close the gap.
How are Drones Put to Work in Construction?
Builders use drones to collect real-time data about projects and understand what’s happening on site. Aerial insights improve progress tracking and help catch problems early — before they become costly or add weeks to a project’s timeline.
But progress tracking is far from the only way construction companies use drones. By spending less than an hour each week mapping a job site, contractors gain access to an unprecedented amount of knowledge about nearly every aspect of their project. With this data in hand, DroneDeploy’s software makes it easy to plan, communicate, and keep projects on schedule.
How are Construction Companies Benefitting from Drones and Aerial Data?
Drones do more than improve communication and help keep projects on track. They also increase safety, save time and resources, fast-track surveying, and deliver accurate measurements. We surveyed our construction customers to see exactly how use drones on the job site. Here are the top results.
We reached out to our construction customers earlier this year, and they reported a wide range of benefits from using drones. Explore the infographic below for the complete breakdown of the results.
What Software Tools are Construction Pros Using with Drone Data?
While thousands of construction customers use DroneDeploy on a weekly basis to collect, process, and analyze drone data, added value comes from incorporating maps and 3D models into existing planning, design, and management workflows.
How Accurate is Drone Data Captured on the Job Site?
As construction companies turn to drones for aerial data collection, we’ve seen a rise in the demand for higher data accuracy. Today, companies are using ground control points (GCPs) — ground markers measured with GPS to calculate absolute global positioning — more than ever before with DroneDeploy. The number of maps processed with GCPs grew 5X in 2017 and is currently increasing at a rate of 20% each month.
Measurements are also more common with construction customers. Construction companies use DroneDeploy’s built-in analysis and annotation tools to calculate area, volume, and distance accurately. Exactly how accurate are drone measurements? Using GCPs, customers achieve 99% accuracy. Learn more in our white paper: Linear Measurement Accuracy of DJI Drone Platforms and Photogrammetry.
What are companies measuring? Stockpiles are some of the most common things measured with drones on the job site. In 2017, DroneDeploy users measured more than 300,000 stockpiles to estimate value and track volume changes over time.