More on drones

In my May article, (which can be read at http://www.birchsurveyors.co.nz/about-us/news) I discussed the increasing of “drones” in a number of industries, including aerial mapping and surveying. The article identified some of the issues, particularly with the use of non-commercial drones.

We recently engaged a commercial drone operator to provide high resolution and high accuracy site data for a new housing development in Tauranga. The outputs met all our expectations and delivery times far exceeded the capability of traditional surveying methods. While this methodology is not necessarily cost effective for smaller developments, the benefits are noticeable at a larger scale.

The drone survey also has the benefit of providing detailed site information, including heights in areas which are not easily accessible. The drone survey was supplemented with a control survey using traditional methods, to provide height and locational datums.

We can see the use of drones increasing constantly, particularly for the larger developments that we get involved in.