If you’re looking to create a map using a drone, it’s essential to follow a series of steps to ensure accuracy and capture the necessary data. In this guide, we will provide an overview of each step to Creating Accurate Maps with Drones, offering valuable insights and professional advice to optimize your mapping process.
Step 1 – Flight Planning: A Crucial Foundation for Success
Flight planning is a critical phase when it comes to mapping with a drone. To guarantee the capture of accurate data and the creation of precise maps, follow these key considerations:
Define the Mapping Area: Begin by identifying the boundaries of the area you wish to map and determining the desired scale of your map.
Choose the Right Drone: Select a drone suitable for your mapping area, taking into account factors such as size, required altitude, and camera specifications. Adhere to airspace regulations, obtain necessary permits, and be aware of any restricted zones.
Assess Terrain and Obstacles: Evaluate the terrain of the area and identify potential obstacles such as trees, buildings, power lines, or hills. Plan your drone’s flight path based on coverage area and desired image overlap, with a recommended overlap range of 60-80%. Utilize software like DroneDeploy or Pix4D to assist in flight path planning.
Camera Settings: Ensure your drone’s camera is properly configured for the mapping area. Set appropriate exposure, focus, and ISO settings.
Battery Considerations: Plan the drone’s battery usage, taking into account altitude, wind conditions, and flight speed, to ensure sufficient power for the entire flight.
Step 2 – Preparation: Setting Up Your Drone for Success
Before taking flight, make sure to complete the following preparatory steps:
Battery Management: Fully charge your drone’s batteries before the flight and have extra batteries on hand in case of longer flight durations.
Firmware and Software Updates: Update your drone’s firmware and software to the latest version, optimizing performance and ensuring smooth operation.
Compass Calibration: Accurate navigation is crucial. Follow the drone’s manual instructions to calibrate its compass before each flight.
Accelerometer Calibration: Calibration of the drone’s accelerometer guarantees stable flight. Refer to the drone’s manual for specific calibration instructions.
Camera Mounting and Configuration: Securely mount the camera on the drone and adjust its settings to match the requirements of your mapping area.
Flight Settings Configuration: Configure your drone’s flight settings to capture the desired data. Adjust altitude, speed, and camera settings according to your flight plan.
Pre-flight Check: Conduct a thorough pre-flight check to ensure all systems are functioning correctly. Verify battery levels, GPS signal strength, and camera settings.
Additionally, it’s essential to monitor weather conditions and obtain any necessary permissions or permits before commencing the flight.
Step 3 – Executing the Flight: Optimizing Data Collection
Efficiently fly your drone and collect high-quality aerial imagery by following these steps:
Pre-flight Check: Before each flight, conduct a comprehensive pre-flight check to ensure all systems are functioning correctly. Verify battery levels, GPS signal strength, and camera settings.
Launch and Stability: Launch your drone from a suitable location and ensure it achieves a stable flight.
Follow the Planned Flight Path: Stick to the planned flight path to cover the designated area effectively. Continuously monitor the drone’s position and altitude throughout the flight.
Image Capture: Utilize the mounted camera to capture aerial imagery of the area. Ensure camera settings such as exposure, focus, and ISO are optimized for the mapping area.
Image Overlap: Confirm that captured images have sufficient overlap (60-80%) for accurate map generation using specialized software.
Obstacle Avoidance: Safely maneuver the drone, avoiding obstacles like trees, buildings, power lines, or hills. Maintain a safe distance and closely monitor the drone’s position and altitude.
Battery Monitoring: Keep a close eye on battery levels during the flight to ensure sufficient power to complete the mapping. Plan flight paths and battery usage accordingly.
Landing: Conclude the flight by landing the drone safely. Ensure the landing area is obstacle-free, allowing for a gentle landing.
Step 4 – Data Processing: Transforming Imagery into Accurate Maps
Process the data captured by your drone with meticulous attention to detail using the following steps:
Data Transfer and Organization: Transfer aerial imagery and accompanying data to your computer, ensuring proper organization and labeling.
Mapping Software Utilization: Leverage industry-standard mapping software like DroneDeploy, Pix4D, or Agisoft Metashape to process the collected data. Create a new project within the software and import the drone-captured data. Ensure accurate camera settings and calibration information.
Image Processing: Employ software algorithms to stitch together the drone-captured images and generate accurate 2D or 3D maps. Refine the map by using the software’s tools to remove errors, adjust boundaries, and enhance details.
Exporting the Map: Export the finalized map in a suitable format such as GeoTIFF, KML, or DXF, based on the intended software compatibility. Customize resolution, scale, and projection to meet required specifications. Add informative labels, legends, and refine visual elements to ensure a professional and visually appealing map.
Validation: Validate the map’s accuracy and reliability by comparing it with other data sources and conducting ground truthing. This verification process ensures the map’s precision and quality.
Step 5 – Finalizing and Saving Your Map
Conclude the mapping process by exporting the final map in the chosen format to an easily accessible location. Remember to utilize high-quality mapping software and ensure that the map meets all required project specifications. By adhering to these comprehensive steps, you can create accurate and visually stunning maps using drones.
In summary, by following a systematic approach that includes thorough flight planning, meticulous preparation, precise execution, and data processing with advanced mapping software, you can create accurate and visually captivating maps using drones. Remember to prioritize safety, adhere to regulations, and validate the map’s accuracy. With this comprehensive guide, you’ll be well-equipped to optimize your drone mapping process and achieve exceptional results.
We hope that some if not all of these tips will help you in some way in the future. Thanks for reading and showing your support.
For more information on our services, stop in and check us out at www.ua-visions.com.
The increasing availability of drones over the past few years has opened the door for a variety of industries. Specifically for photographers and videographers, drones have made it possible to capture incredible images and footage from places previously only accessible by helicopter.
Although I have years of experience with drone photography and photography in general, I’ve learned that if you ask the top five photographers in the U.S. what they’re top photography tips would be, you would get five different answers. That’s the thing about photography, much of a photo’s beauty and wonder is in the eye of the beholder. If you noticed, I said ‘much of a photo’s beauty’ not all. There many other aspects that make up a great photo or video and in this article, I will be sharing many tips that will hopefully give you an edge up on how to Create Better Drone Photos and Video.
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Tip# 1 – Point Straight Down
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If you’ve ever taken a flight, have you ever found yourself mesmerized looking out of the window to the ground below. This is a great shot that that provides an interesting view when you’re focused on the ground. It’s a perfect example of a shot that provides an interesting perspective that you can only capture with a drone.
Tip# 2 – Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast
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If you want to get good looking cinematic footage, then you’ll want to make sure that you have smooth stable footage and that means being gentle on your joysticks. If your drone is jerking and looking all over the place, this will quickly become a distraction and your viewers will immediately lose interest. One way to help with keeping your footage slow and steady is to use the tripod mode. Your drone may call it something else but typically there is a function that will slow down all the movement of your drone which in-turn will assist with creating that cinematic footage your after. If your really wanting to tweak your shots, head into the drone settings and you can slow these movements down even more.
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Tip# 3 – Be Quick
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Just the opposite of those cinematic shots, fly as fast as it will go… legally of course. If you have ever watched footage from an fpv drone? I’m sure you’ve noticed how intense some of the shots came be. This is mainly due to the speed at which the drone is moving in relation to the objects around it. The faster you fly in close proximity to the ground or other object gives the viewer a much more dynamic experience. Since most drone owners don’t own fpv drones, to create similar shots, I suggest flying in a straight line as close to the ground or another object as your can using the sport mode. The reason I say straight line is because when you turn on sport mode, it disables all of the sensors.
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Tip# 4 – Have a Subject
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When you’re shooting your first video, big open landscapes are great but when you can put an object or a person in the frame. This gives you and the viewer much more perspective on the location. Having a subject will also give more visual interest to the photos and videos that you’re creating.
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Tip# 5 – Over & Under Exposure
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Over exposing is when everything is too bright you in the frame. Try to expose properly so that you have good contrast but you’re not too bright and not too dark. A good tool to use is your histogram which you can find on most drones. Using the histogram, make sure that all of your exposure values are somewhere in the middle. If you expose to bright and parts of your image are super white and blown out, you’re likely not going to be able to recover that. If you bring your footage into your editing software and you try to bring back those highlights, the image is just going to be white.
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Tip# 6 – Research Your Location
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If you think you have the ideal spot picked out, do this. Pull up Google Maps and see how the location looks from the sky. Look at photos or videos from other creators or other people that are online. It’s a good idea to know as much as possible beforehand so that you can find cool angles to shoot from and ideas on what to shoot when you get there. This way, your not draining all your batteries looking for the perfect composition.
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Tip# 7 – Sunrise & Sunset
You’re going to get the best colors and the
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best life just as the sun’s coming up and just as the sun’s going down. This time of day you’re also going to get the best looking shadows. You can get big long stretched out shadows that are going to create even more visual interest depending on what it is that you’re filming. When you’re planning your shoots, try to do it closer to sunrise or sunset and that’s gonna instantly make your
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photos and video look that much better.
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Tip# 8 – Know Your Why
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Have a reason to why you’re filming and what the purpose of you going out to shoot. If you’re going out to tell a story for something like a Vlog, know why. You want to make sure that you get the footage that you need and make sure that you’re not just spending a lot of extra time filming stuff that’s not going to be used. If you’re going out to photograph something specific, do your research like we were talking about earlier and know exactly what you need to be able to capture that shot. Just understanding why you’re going out what it is that you’re trying to capture will help with getting that specific shot for that specific project.
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Tip# 9 – Fly Lower & Show Scale
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Don’t fly as high as possible. Here in the U.S. there’s a 400 ft. flight restriction, however at 400 feet the primary shots you can get are big open landscapes. Don’t spend all your time up at 400 feet, get down close and you’ll be able to get a variety of shots and some cool different perspectives that you just can’t get with other cameras. Think about going from big open wide shots to right above the tree line and then possibly closer to the object or person. Using an object or subject as visual interest is great if you have a photograph of the epic landscapes and then you put a person in it. You really get a much better sense of the scale of everything that you’re taking a photo of. Using a drone to get these shots along with the use of a subject is a great way to demonstrate how big places really are.
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Tip# 10 – Shoot Footage Worth Capturing
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Pick interesting locations and go somewhere worth filming, not the same bland locations everyone has seen a thousand times before. If you’re going to take cool photos and videos, then go to places that have a unique look and can get you better looking shots. One thing that I’ve seen over and over, boring drone footage. Find something or somewhere unique and different. If you find a place, pay attention to how the landscape changes and how the shadows will play with the different objects that you’re photographing or taking videos of.
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Keep in mind, there’s all kinds of interesting stuff all around us. Just because you’re in a place that doesn’t have access to huge mountains or beaches doesn’t mean you don’t have interesting and unique things to photograph. Having a drone in the sky gives you a lot of opportunity to see things from a different perspective and there’s a lot of interesting things when you look at it from a camera that’s up that high.
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Tip# 11 – Look For Shadows
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Make it a point to get your drone up and point it straight down. While your there, look for how the shadows are playing with the landscape. You might see something completely unique that you’re not gonna see from the ground. As I mentioned earlier, the impact of these shadows is far greater when you’re right at sunrise when they’re stretched far out.
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Tip# 12 – Splitting your Frame
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When your shooting straight down or landscapes from above, you can do is split your photo or video in half using what’s in the frame. In another words, using a part of the landscape as your division line to split the frame and then you will have two contrasting elements that are side-by-side giving a visually pleasing effect.
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Tip# 13 – Lead the Viewer’s Eyes
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Implement the concept of leading lines. This is using lines that are naturally found in the landscape that draws the viewer’s attention to a specific point in your photo or video. So find different lines, whether it is a physical line like a train track or just the way that the landscape is shaped and see if you can draw your viewers eye to one point in the photo or video.
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Tip# 14 – Always shoot in RAW
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If you are using a DJI drone, you’ll see in the camera settings two choices. I suggest you always shoot in RAW or .DNG if you plan on doing any color grading or editing in general. RAW images contain much more information and accommodate the editing process much better than a compressed JPEG image. If you need quick delivery and you’re not going to be doing anything to your photos, JPEG is perfect. One downside of shooting RAW is that this file type is massive in comparison and can quickly fill a hard drive.
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Similar to RAW photos, DJI give you the option to shoot video in D-Log or D-Cinelike. nBoth D-Log and D-Cinelike will produce similar-looking raw video. Neither will appear to have enough contrast or saturation, and they will appear flat and boring. This is so that video editing software may enhance the color, contrast, and vitality of the clip, which is what both modes are designed to do.
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D-Cinelike and D-log vary primarily in that D-Cinelike captures a wider spectrum of colors than D-Log. When using D-Log, the color gamut that is collected is much more condensed. D-log, on the other hand, enhances the highlights while keeping the shadows from becoming overly dark.
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These two modes have one thing in common: for the greatest results, both must be color graded using your choice of editing software. Both shooting modes are designed to record a lot of information that can subsequently be enhanced using video editing software rather than producing the finished result directly from the micro SD card.
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Tip# 15 – Using the Sun
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You may have heard to always shoot with the sun to your back. This is not always the case and you can create a starburst effect if you setup the camera correctly. To do this, you need to have a drone that has an aperture built-in. When you close down the aperture to f/11 you can create a starburst looking effect that looks like a star. Again, you need a drone that gives you the ability to change the aperture settings. Otherwise, it creates a bright ‘overexposed’ orbit out in the sky. It’s going to be super bright in comparison to everything else that you’re filming.
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Tip# 16 – Freeze Frames
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Most major video editing software packages have a functionality that will allow you to freeze a frame from your video footage. This should really be used as a backup. If you want to freeze the action of a frame, increase your shutter speed to create crisp clear images. When you’re shooting a photo with your drone at a low shutter speed, you’re going to see some motion blur in your shot unless it’s something specific that you want to see the blur.
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Tip# 17 – Use ND Filters
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ND Filters is equivalent to putting sunglasses on your camera and it’s gonna help you bring down your shutter speed to be able to create lots of motion blur in your shot. If you use something like an ND 1000 on footage of the ocean, you could get these really stylistic shots but this is a specific style of photography so you don’t always want to fly with one of these filters on.
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Tip# 18 – Bracketing
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The bracket feature will allow you to take multiple photographs in quick succession. The camera will take a normal photo and it’s gonna take one brighter and then one darker. If you have a setup to take five shots, it will take two brighter and two darker. One benefit of using bracketing is that if you didn’t nail your exposure the first time, you could use one of the other shots and most likely going to have the proper exposure. Additionally, if you want to create a composite and merge two or more exposures together to create a High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo inside your editing software, bracketing is the way to go.
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The above five photos are an example of a five shot bracket. As you can see, each image has a different exposure. The two on the left are much lighter than the two on the right. You can either choose the photo that has the best exposure or import some or all into your preferred editing software and merge them together to create and HDR image.
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Tip# 19 – Aspect Ratios
Don’t shoot in the 16×9 ratio. You’ll want to make sure that you’re shooting in the 4×3 ratio if you’re drone allows it. This lets you use the full height and width of your camera’s sensor to get the most information into your photo. If you later decide in post processing you want a 16×9 look to your image, you can always crop it down, but you can’t go the other way if you want to go up to 4×3.
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Tip# 20 – Composition and the Rule of Thirds
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I’m sure you’ve heard of the rule of thirds if you’ve been doing photography for any length of time. The rule of thirds is great at getting your subject aligned in your composition, but don’t always rely on it. The rule of thirds is breaking your image up into quadrants and then putting your subject on one of these lines. The rule of thirds works great especially for putting your horizon on a third or putting a person, but don’t always rely on the rule of thirds. You may find that sometimes you want to just center your subject. This is ‘sometimes’ a very compelling shot when you have a really bold image of a subject centered in the middle of the frame.
Additionally, use your grid whenever you’re filming. The grid is an overlay that you can set up in your drone software. On DJI drones there’s typically a few different options you can choose from. The rule of thirds, have a center marker and the grid. It’s always a good idea to keep these on the screen because this will help you compose better shot. It’s going to give you where center is so if you are trying to set up your subject you can get them dead center. If you want to use the rule of thirds and make sure your horizon is on one of the thirds, you’ll use one of these lines to line it up or you’ll push past the line if you want to have a lot of negative space in your image.
Just get out there and try a little of everything. This will help find your style of shooting and get you comfortable with the many techniques used to create great drone footage.
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We hope that some if not all of these tips will help you in some way in the future. Feel free to leave a comment or any tips that have helped you.
In this article, I’m going to go through fifteen different Tips on Safe Drone Operation to help you to become a better drone pilot. Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve flown drones for years, there’s a lot of information in this that we are going to cover that will to help you on all of your future flights. Some of the topics we’ll be touching on will be general functionality and operation. I plan on putting together another article that will cover tips to produce good looking video footage and photos. Our drone manufacturer of choice is the DJI lineup so most of the content will be applicable to them although many of these tips and tricks can be applied to any drone manufacturer.
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Let’s dive in.
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Tip #1 – Learn You’re Drone Inside and Out
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Learn how your drone operates, how the propellers go on, how the gimbal works, and all the physical aspects about the drone itself as well as the controller. Just as important, the app you’ll be using to control your drone is an area that you will want to become familiar with. You’ll need a good understanding of the app and what all the buttons do because when you go out to fly. Make sure that when you’re in the air and you’re trying to get some unique photos or a cinematic video, you know what everything means and what the satellites mean. Knowing what each icon on the screen represents is fundamental. Icons such as signal strength and the different on-screen pop-ups such obstacle avoidance warnings. Learning the different components is not hard or complicated but there is a decent amount to learn to be able to know what your drone is doing up in the sky.
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Tip #2 – Have a Stationary Launch and Landing Location
Do your best to ensure the area is clear of dust and debris so that when you take-off or land you don’t get dirt in your motors or gimbal. A budget friendly and useful item you could purchase is a is a launchpad. They just fold up and they go in your in your bag or backpack. This way you have a launchpad anywhere you go.
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Tip #3 – Practice, Practice, Practice
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Find somewhere to test out your drone such as a park or a large empty parking area. Use this time to learn the controls. This will establish a solid understand on the controller and how the drone moves in the air in a safe controlled environment.
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Tip #4 – Establish a good GPS Connection
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When you have a strong GPS signal before you takeoff, your drone is going to know where it is on the earth.It uses Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates from satellites orbiting the earth to know exactly where it is. Ensuring you have a strong connection between before you just go fly will set your home position.The home point is set on a DJI drone when enough GPS satellites connect. It’s important to know exactly where the home point is because if there’s an issue it’s going to automatically return to that location. An issue that may arise could be happen if the drone disconnects from the controller.The drone will then automatically return to home, but only if the home point is set.
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Tip #5 – Inclement Weather
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Drones are not generally waterproof. Although they will work in certain conditions, why would you risk damaging an expensive piece of equipment or worse. Before your next flight, check the forecast for what the weather holds. Additionally, precipitation should not be your only concern. Wind is also a factor that should be recognized. A good rule of thumb for flying on windy days is to always start by flying into the wind. The reasoning behind this has to do with battery life. If you begin by flying with the wind rather than against it, the drone will have to work that much harder to return since it must now fly against the wind to return. This opens the risk of not having enough battery life left to return to the home position.
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Tip #6 – The 20% rule
Always leave yourself enough battery life to return the home point and don’t fly to the end of your battery. Through experience, I have found that beginning your return flight once your battery reaches 20% remaining life. In cases where you have flown a significant distance away from your start point, you may want to increase that percentage to 25 or 30%. Additionally, there are outside factors that can have a negative effect on battery life such as extreme environmental temperatures. Always give yourself a little cushion so you can bring it back safely. It’s better to have a few spare batteries than trying to push your battery as far as I could possibly go.
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Tip #7 – Landing on a Solid Flat Surface
Do your best not to catch/land your drone with/in your hand unless it’s necessary. If you’re still new, I suggest finding a solid stationary location you’re able to take-off and land your drone safely without needing to use your hands. I can’t say I haven’t done it, but trust me, I’ve learned my lesson. Last year I was at the beach and didn’t want to get my landing pad out of my backpack, so I tried catching it with my hands. Bad idea. As I was reaching my hand up toward the drone, a strong gust of wind shifted the drone just enough for the propeller blades to clip several of my fingers. Thankfully this isn’t a loss of a limb type injury, but it didn’t feel good. It gave me a few scratches, but worst of all, the drone immediately fell to the ground. Remember, I was at the beach, so this wasn’t some grassy field, it was sand. It took me a couple hours to get all the fine particles of sand out of all the crevices. All in all, I got off easy. It could have been much worse.
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Tip #8 – Screen Cover
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It happens all the time, you go outside to fly on a nice sunny day and the sun glare makes it hard to see you screen. When you’re flying your drone and can’t see your screen, there is an increased risk of crashing or injury. Find a nice shady spot out of direct sunlight. This will keep your phone (if your screen isn’t built-in) from getting too hot and dimming and your able to keep good situational awareness. Another option is to pick up a screen shade. Like the launchpad/landing pad, sun hoods and screen covers are fairly cheap.
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Tip #9 – Pre-Equipment and Gear Check
Check each battery, your memory cards,
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controller battery and anything else you need before you leave. There’s been times where I’ve driven two hours away to a project and forgotten to put the SD card back into the drone from the last flight. Try not to rush yourself because it will almost always lead to issues. Take a few minutes to go over all of your gear before the trip ensuring you’re good to go.
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Tip #10 – Return Altitude
Don’t forget to set your ‘return to home’ altitude. I know of a local Fire Department in West Virginia that had a $20,000 drone and one day when they were using it the controller lost connection with the drone. West Virginia is full of mountains and if they would have set the return to home altitude, that wouldn’t have been an issue. Instead, it was still set extremely low from the factory and as the drone was returning, it flew right into the side of a mountain. As a good rule of thumb, set your return to home altitude to the same height as your max altitude for that flight. Generally, this won’t exceed 400 feet Above Ground Level (AGL).
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Tip #11 – Quick Flight Test
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When you take-off, hover just a few feet off the ground and double check everything is working correctly. It only takes a few seconds. This gives the drone a chance to establish a strong GPS signal and give you a chance to check the propellers and gimbal is fully operational.
Tip #12 – Rules and Regulations
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Know the rules and regulations for the area before you start flying. Each location is different, and you should always make sure that you’re flying within the rules that are set in place. There are regulations in place within the USA that we must abide by, but if you’re in another country it might be a different set of rules. Wherever you’re flying, know exactly if you’re authorized to be flying there and what the rules are.
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Some of the rules and regulations established in the US include:
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– You must fly within visual line of sight
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– Altitude must be below 400 feet
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– Each drone must be registered with the FAA
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– You can only fly for recreational purposes unless you have your part 107 license
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– Ensure you’re not interfering with any manned aircraft
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– You can only fly in class G airspace unless authorized to fly in controlled airspace
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Tip #13 – Want to Make Money?
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Get your part 107 license. This allows you to use your drone for commercial purposes (i.e. make money). This could be through selling your photos on your personal website or one of the many stock footage websites. You can’t legally sell your drone footage unless you have your part 107 license. Obtaining your license isn’t tough and you’ll learn many of the fundamentals of flying along the way. If your wanting your part 107, gather the study material and dig in. The test isn’t hard, but you will need to study before the test in order to pass.
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Tip #14 – Active Track
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This goes along with a couple earlier tips about knowing your drone, the controller, and the app. Active track is part of the app and one of those things to know and practice before you attempt to using it for a project. Find an open area and just play around with active track and learn everything about how you’re active track works depending on which drone you have. The tracking will be different as well as different limitations on these drones. Some drones only have sensors on the front, back, top and bottom while some have sensors all the way around. If you were to be using a drone that doesn’t have sensors all the way around, there is a chance it could be tracking you and fly right into a tree. Learn each function of your drone in a safe open area.
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Tip #15 – Drone Limitations
Understand how your obstacle avoidance works. As I mentioned above, some drones such as the Mavic Air 2 doesn’t have obstacle avoidance sensors all the way around and could fly into something. Unlike the Mavic 3 that has omni-directional sensors providing 360º of obstacle avoidance. While these sensors are extremely handy, when you switch to ‘Sport Mode’ these sensors are no longer active. This means you could end up flying straight into a brick wall if you’re not careful.
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Hopefully these Tips on Safe Drone OperationUntil the next Flight…
We hope that some if not all of these tips will help you in some way in the future. Thanks for reading and showing your support.
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For more information on our services, stop in and check us out at www.ua-visions.com.
The comprehensive stages necessary to execute your building project are referred to as the construction process. Planning/design, pre-construction, procurement, construction, and post-construction are the typical five stages of this procedure. Each phase has its own set of obstacles, depending on the size and scope of the project.
Whether you’re project is a small gas station or a large industrial complex, each phase of the project gives potential to save valuable time and money by discovering efficiencies and opportunities to keep the project moving ahead. Many construction company owners and project managers and are unaware of how effective drones can be throughout their entire project.
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This is why we wanted to share some of the many ways drones and maybe some additional software can be highly beneficial during the construction process.
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1. The Initiation Phase and Pre-Construction Phase
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The initial stages of any construction project incorporates many aspects of planning. Drones have quickly become the industry standard in this process and are especially important for pre-construction research. We all know time equals money. Every project begins with a plan and those that don’t take advantage of drone technology are wasting valuable time. Here are a few ways a drone can save you time and money in the planning phase:
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Selecting The Project Location: You may think by physically going to the potential site location and seeing it from ground level with your own eyes, you have a full grasp of the entire location. Now imagine if you were at that same location but 2ooft up looking down, or even 400ft. Wouldn’t that birds-eye view show you much more detail than if you were standing on the ground? Now you can without ever having to leave your office.
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Topographic Maps: We mentioned earlier that drones and some additional computer software can be beneficial, well this is one aspect where mapping software such as Agisoft Metashape can show you an enormous amount of information about your site selection. Information such as elevation change with contour, vegetation, Digital Surface Models (DSM), planimetric features (measurements road edges, heights, signs, building footprints, etc).
Surveying: Historically, surveying has been a slow and costly task for many project managers. Depending on the land layout of the construction site, having a survey completed could take days or even weeks. Through the use of drones, this process can be cut down to a matter of hours if not minutes.
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Scheduling: It’s important to fly a drone at this early stage of the project. Visually observing the construction location from a birds-eye view will assist in determining optimal staffing, equipment / machine deployment, and overall planning so as not to waste resources. This also applies to the construction phase of the project
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2. Drones Support to the Construction Phase
Drones in the construction industry have vastly improved remote site monitoring of equipment, personnel, and material as well as project progression as a whole. Some ways drones are utilized include:
Inventory: Drones provide the ability to inspect material inventories quickly without the need for construction personnel. This greatly increases overall cost effectiveness and restocking efficiency without the risk of a construction slowdown due to lack of materials. Monitoring materials in this way protects also provides a historical reference to project managers and insurance carriers in those rare cases of theft or weather damage.
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Safe Detailed Accurate Reporting – Drones have the unique capability to easily access almost any part of a structure and can collect more useful information using high-quality 5K imaging, video or even thermal cameras. Although human experience is still required, drones are much faster, more efficient, and more accurate. By replacing a construction worker and replacing him/her vastly reduces accidents and the risk of an on-site injury. By accessing hard-to-reach spaces, drones can safely collect more information much faster than through conventional means.
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Reduction in Delays: Drones are capable of capturing monthly, weekly, or even daily repeatable flights making it simple to create progress photos and reports. Capturing aerial footage in this consistent fashion will allow you to quickly identify areas that are causing or may potentially cause delays during all phases of the project. Gaining this insight on the project grants you the ability to take proactive steps to reduce negatively impacts rather than reacting to them when they occur.
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3. The Post-Construction Phase
We’re not saying their wrong that many construction professionals are surprisingly inspecting sites the old-fashioned way when commercial drones can track and inspect sites faster, better, and more accurately, but a photo is worth a thousand words.
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Before and After: We’ve all heard of C.Y.A. (Cover Your A$$). In the past, we’ve heard project managers say how owners of neighboring properties to their project have complained to them. Some complaints from neighboring landowners mentioned their property was damaged during construction or now they have drainage issues now that construction is complete. Using overhead before and after photos or video, the project manage has a leg to stand on proving the complaint is unfounded potentially saving thousands in legal fees.
Superior Advertising and Marketing: Showcasing your project using stunning aerial drone photography or cinematic videography in your marketing plan will dramatically increase attractiveness and drive more clients to your business. According to MLS statistics, properties photographed by drones were shown to sell 68% faster, creating faster turnarounds and increasing profitability.
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If you are interested in our services and would like to add drones support to your next construction project, please do not hesitate give us a call. Our team is always available to talk and we’ll be happy to assist you in providing the highest-definition aerial products possible. Contact Us – info@ua-visions.com – (304) 807-9410
Savvy property holders know perhaps the most effective way to ensure their rooftop is in and remains in good condition is through assessments. At UA-Visions, we know having your rooftop surveyed after winter, before fall, and after significantly bad weather events can benefit both residential and commercial real estate owners with quickly identifying problems before it turns into a significant issue.n nInspections of oversized roofs and complex structures can sometimes be difficult, expensive and dangerous. Unlike plain and simple old roofs, most of the newer designs are unique and intricate. However, regardless of shape, complexity or size, developers and owners must comply with building codes and regulations. Aerial Inspections using the newest drone technology is capable of tackling the most complex roof.
Traditional roof inspections can be very dangerous, from roof collapses and insect bites to falls from ladders and scaffolding equipment. This can be caused by malfunctions, improper installation or assembly. However, drone technologies have made inspections much easier, safer, faster and cheaper.
Drones minimize or completely eliminate most risks, including falls and roof collapses under the inspectors’ feet. Sending drones for pre-climb inspections can help identify faults. It also points out faulty roofs so that inspectors are more careful if they still have to climb the roof. Unfortunately, most people don’t care so they haven’t take advantage of modern roof inspection techniques. Many homeowners, business owners, and inspectors have not yet adopted drone screening technologies due to a lack of awareness or lack of knowledge about the many benefits they can provide.
What is Inspected?
Our drone roofing inspections is a great tool. There no need to physically climb up a shaky ladder or risking a long fall back to earth. With this safety conscious option, we’re able to do an inspection without ever having to get up on the roof and risking additional damage to any of the roofing materials like clay tiles or even metal roofs.
First, we simply do a visual inspection of the entire roof checking to see if any of the shingles are buckling, curling, or blistering from the effects of the sun. Even more important, we look for missing or broken shingles while keeping an eye out for moss. Moss can be associated with moisture and roof decay. Black algae stains are common and mostly cosmetic but not as harmful to your roof as moss. This can easily be cleaned up with a mild detergent and a garden hose.
Just remember, don’t uses a water hose with high pressure as this could damage the shingles. nnNext, we take advantage of the Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) 5K camera and zoom in on vent pipes to look for cracks or worn rubber boots as well as rust spots and cracked caulking on the flashing.
Finally, we do an inspection of the gutters and downspouts. Common issues we find are clogs, gutters that are holding water, and the grit that sheds off shingles over time. All of these are not huge concerns, but they will need to be monitored and corrected if possible. Clogged gutters can cause massive damage over time. During times of heavy rain, runoff will sometimes overflow directly into the yard causing foundation damage and/or flow down the side of the house causing structural issues later. Standing water isn’t a big problem… at first. The longer this continues, the better the chances moss and algae with begin to grow and spread causing the runoff not to flow properly. Over time, this may create more frequent clogs and potentially more issues. One element that protects your roof from the sun’s UV rays are the granules along the face of the shingle. When you find them piling up in your gutter, that’s Mother Nature chipping away at your roof’s life span.
What Are the Advantages Using Drones For Roof Inspections?
1. Safety
Drone roof inspections eliminate most, if not all, of the risks associated with traditional roof inspection methods. Hazards arise from the nature and design of the building as well as outside factors such as wind or insects. Complex structures, high elevations, worn roofs and structures, and inaccessible areas can present multiple hazards to inspectors, the occupants inside and those around them. Collecting data without endangering lives is the absolute number one main advantage of using drones to inspect a wide range of assets.
2. Highly Detailed and Accurate Reporting
Drones have the unique capability to easily access almost any part of a structure and can collect more useful information using high-quality 5K imaging, video and even thermal cameras. Although human experience is still required, drone inspections are faster, more efficient and more accurate. Modern building inspection technology allows people to obtain more detailed information about the structure. By accessing hard-to-reach and confined spaces, drones can collect more information than inspectors can obtain through conventional means. You can also use the drone repeatedly to take photos or videos from the same place over and over again. This is useful when you want to compare images before and after repairs are complete. Our drones have built-in GPS systems that can take location snapshots from the exact location with each visit, even after more than a month has passed. This means the drone’s camera can capture images and video from the same height and angle that humans cannot manually inspect.
3. Speed of Completion and Reporting
Significant effort goes into planning and performing traditional building inspections. Therefore, more time and operators are required to plan and perform one inspection. They also need to combine and analyze different data gathered through different means to create reports. New technologies like drones take very little time to verify after a customer requests it. Drone inspections begin as soon as the team arrives on site, as no lifting and access equipment needs to be installed. It also performs inspections several times faster than conventional methods.
4. Lower Insurance Costs
Because of the risks associated with traditional roof inspection, workers and sometimes equipment and structures are insured against accidents and damage. And because many workers are needed, insurance costs can be high, which can reduce profits. Drones are less risky, reducing the need to pay insurance for workers and equipment. Drones eliminate the need to comply with numerous health and safety regulations. These requirements are often necessary when sending workers to perform structural inspections or roof inspections of apartment buildings or similar buildings. Sites should be checked for possible safety issues due to height and other potential hazards. To perform these checks, the regulations require workers to ensure that they are in good health. This is also done for insurance purposes. But drones eliminate the need for testing and workers’ insurance.
5. Greater Accessibility
Due to the design of some roofs, it is not possible to directly inspect them. This could be due to height, slope, or humidity. Chimneys and similar items can also be difficult for inspectors, and some roofing materials, such as clay, can be dangerous to walk on. Inspectors can use camera masts to monitor these areas, but they lack detail and are limited. Drones can be moved anywhere on the rooftop and can collect photos and videos from every nook and cranny. This level of access allows for a thorough check with no missing items.
Some Frequently Asked Question
How long does a roof inspection take?n nA professional roof inspection can take from 45 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the size of the roof, what is being inspected and the complexity of the task. After verification, you will receive a report, usually within one week of your verification, telling you what your verification was, what you found, and recommended next steps, such as any changes that need to be repaired or changed.n
What Affects Roof Inspection Costs? n nThe cost of a roof inspection depends on the type of inspection the contractor is performing, the size and material of the roof, and how much it will cost them to complete the inspection. Most roof inspectors charge an extra fee, especially for large roofs, while others charge per square foot of roof area. You can pay more for experience with unusual roofing materials such as wood shingles or barrel shingles. For example, the cost of inspecting a roof made of slate shingles could be almost four times more expensive than an asphalt roof. If your roof is very high or very steep, you may need to pay extra for a visual inspection or upgrade to a more expensive drone inspection.nnWhat is the cost of drone roof inspections?
Roof inspectors use drones when access is difficult, such as when the structure’s roof is very high or steep. The average price is around 250-400 dollars. The inspector flies the camera-equipped drone over the roof, taking close-ups of all surfaces for expert analysis.
As property owners ourselves, we realize you need fast, safe, and precise reviews from a fair and solid group that won’t attempt to upsell you on extras. UA-Visions offers best in class drone rooftop aerial inspections so you can quickly identify any potential issues that may become worse without corrective action.
nIf you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate give us a call. Our team is always available to talk and we’ll be happy to assist you in providing the highest-definition aerial products possible.
Drones are versatile tools that can be used for a wide variety of applications. One of the newer uses for drones is to create 3D models thanks to special software programs that can turn aerial images into digital spatial models. n
Here’s what you need to know about drone 3D modeling
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How do you create 3D models with a drone and what can they be used for? First, you’ll need to know what a 3D model is exactly. It’s a three dimensional representation of an object created by putting individual points in 3-D space along the X, Y, and Z axis. Points are connected by geometric shapes such as triangles, lines, or curved surfaces to form the model. You can create a 3D model manually by using 3D modeling software, by using an algorithm, or by scanning a physical object. This is where drones come in. Drones are essentially airborne scanners that can be used to turn large objects such as buildings construction sites or simply large land areas into 3D models thanks to a process called photogrammetry.
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Photogrammetry is the science of making measurements from photographs, particularly aerial photographs, and using those measurements to generate a 3D model. The way photogrammetry works is it looks at photos of a subject taken from two or more locations. Using the different perspectives of the images along with the location data of where the images were taken, and try to detect the locations of points on the subject. The more photos you have of your subject taken from different locations, the more accurate this triangulation process will be. The result is accurate point locations plotted in 3-D space, which is exactly what you need to create 3D models. Drone photos are great for this process because every photo is geotagged. This means the latitude, longitude, and altitude from the drones GPS and onboard sensors are embedded in the metadata of the image. The metadata also includes information about the camera sensor in the optics of the drone. These geo-tagged photos can be processed by software programs such as DroneDeploy, Pix4D, Agisoft Metashape and others to create 3D models with high detail and accuracy.
To get the best results for creating a 3D model with your drone, you need to do two things. First, you need to make sure there’s at least a 60 to 70% overlap between your aerial photos. This helps the triangulation process be more accurate and track the same points between images. Flight apps such as DroneDeploy and Pix4Dcapture allow you to create automated flight plans and set your desired image overlap. The second thing you need to do is make sure you capture photos of your subject at different angles and altitudes. Typically, you want to capture straight down images from around 100 to 200 feet. Then you want to circle your subject with your camera set to about a 30° angle. Next, fly a slightly lower altitude with around a 45° angle and lastly fly at an even lower altitude with a 70° angle. You of course also want to adjust your radius to keep the subject in frame, but remember to avoid having the horizon in the frame. Capturing these different angles and altitudes helps create a higher quality 3D model by providing texturing image data about the sides and the top of the building.
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So how are these 3D models being used across different industries?
The construction industry has seen a huge benefit from drone imagery mapping and 3D modeling software. Construction firms can monitor progress of a construction site with regular updates and easily inspect different areas from the comfort of an office chair. The high accuracy of these 3D models also means they can be used to calculate distance, area, and volume measurements.
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Land surveying has also seen tremendous benefits from drone technology. Not only has it become easier to get project updates but you can create detailed bear earth models such as Digital Surface Models (DSM) and Orthomosaics. These provide the viewer a single image of the entire area rather than many individual photos of smaller areas. A digital surface model is an elevation model that captures both the environment’s natural and artificial features. It includes the tops of buildings, trees, powerlines, and any other objects.
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Along with generating 3D models of the terrain, firms specializing in inspection services can also utilize 3D models. Through mapping technology, you can safely inspect previously un-scene angles of tall structures and equipment more safely and more efficiently. Easily spot potential problems with detailed 3D models or the original high quality imagery for a better look at a particular area. Energy firms benefit from these kinds of tools as well. Much of their equipment is larger, more dangerous, or even challenging to reach. The ease of inspecting these types of areas with drones can help ensure it occurs more frequently and with less risk.
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The agriculture industry is another area were drones are transforming the landscape. Farmers are not necessarily using 3D models but they can still leverage data from drones to create Orthomosaic maps of their fields. Newer drones are available with multispectral cameras, allowing farmers to create normalized difference vegetation indexes for a deeper understanding of the crop Health.
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Public safety can also utilize 3D models for documenting and recreating crime scenes, recording evidence, and providing a fast clear picture for investigators. Imagine if you were a Detective sifting through hundreds of photos, trying to find clues. With this technology, it’s able to provide, you as that investigator, an overview of the entire scene. A ‘to scale’ 3D model, detailing the exact location of every item of evidence in relation to other items and locations found around it. Forensics investigators can even gather imagery and data in the wake of natural disasters in areas typically unsafe for people.
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Lastly, architecture and engineering firms are using 3D models to create detailed and realistic models of their buildings or development projects. These models help architects communicate the final design to key stakeholders and investors. For investors, being able to visually see what they are putting their hard earned money toward goes along way.
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Across all of these industries, drones are making it safer, faster, and more efficient by bringing together meaningful data while reducing liability and risk.
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For more information on creating 3D models with drones and how these models are being used in different industries, visit our YouTube channel or our website at UA-Visions.com. To get more drone tips, news, and guides, be sure to subscribe to our channel while your there.
