Drone surveying or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) surveying is a relatively new technique that allows for faster, safer and more economical data capture of certain types of construction or resource sites. Bennett is a leader in drone assisted surveys in British Columbia.
How does drone surveying work?
With a drone/UAV different sensors/survey measurement tools can be attached. Theses sensors can be many things including a Lidar module or camera. Drone surveys that use a camera to take pictures that are then analysed to calculate measurements is called Photogrammetry—the science of taking measurements from photos. Surveying with a drone combines Photogrammetry with GPS data and conventional surveying techniques.
Generally in the past UAV assisted surveying was reserved for large scale projects due to the cost. The advances in the UAV technology, cameras and computer software have allowed us to bring photogrammetry to smaller projects at a reasonable cost.
What are the benefits of surveying with a drone?
The top three benefits are Safety, Efficiency and Cost Savings. Using a drone or UAV allows us to remotely measure rugged, hazardous and hard to reach locations. This can be done without disrupting operations at a construction site, land fill or mine.
Drones are able to capture data from a site in a fraction of the time it would take for a conventional survey. This can result in major cost savings.
Is drone / UAV surveying safe?
In a word – yes. The equipment we use has built in redundant safety features and our trained pilot holds an advanced Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) certificate issued by Transport Canada.
In many cases UAV surveys are safer than conventional surveying as it eliminates the need to access dangerous work environments on foot.
What kind of products/services can I get from a drone survey?
- High resolution geo-referenced ortho mosaic (RGB)
- Bare Earth Digital Surface models (DSM)
- Digital terrain models (DTM)
- Topographic surveying
- Volume calculations
- High definition scanning, video and pictures
How accurate is drone / UAV surveying?
We typically collect data at a ground sampling distance of 1.8 cm to 3 cm. This generally translates to a horizontal accuracy of 1.8 to 3 cm and a vertical accuracy of 3.6 cm to 6 cm. For areas of lower point accuracy overall accuracy typically averages out to meet standard acceptable accuracies because the drone can collect millions of data points.