The benefits of drones are now well known, including
· Improved mitigation of health and safety hazards
· Reduced survey times
· Reduced site disruption
· High survey fidelity.
Most of these benefits result from the simple fact the drone operates overhead. It is important to remember that the drone itself does not produce accurate maps; it is in essence a platform for a sensor.
Therefore, here are four (4) key factors that together contribute to an accurate Drone Survey. They are:
The Drone: The purpose of the drone is to safely, reliably and accurately position the camera. Therefore, the stability of the drone platform to follow the designated flight plan and maintain the orientation of the camera in the nadir regardless of external factors such as wind is critical. Since the drone operates overhead and above client assets and personnel, a key consideration is the amount of safety features and redundancy built into the drone’s onboard systems i.e. redundancy in propulsion, onboard navigation systems, batteries and communication systems to name but a few. Many drones now feature dual and sometimes triple redundancy in these systems.
The Camera: The quality and internal geometry of the camera, its sensor and its lens are critical to the production of high accuracy maps. For high accuracy work, high quality lenses are preferred as their optimized internal geometry minimizes optical distortions and results in sharper images with fewer artefacts, improving the accuracy of the final mapping. Some cameras and lens combinations are best suited to land survey, whilst others are more suited to inspection work and video.
The Professional Surveyor: The skill and knowledge of the surveyor and or the photogrammetrist to plan the image acquisition mission, that is the drone flight plan (which covers: image overlap, relative orientation and GSD) and their ability to design the ground control network is critical to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the survey. The ground control is crucial for high accuracy aerial survey in photogrammetry. Once the imagery returns to the office, the surveyor is responsible for meeting the client’s specifications and the production of the required project deliverables be it 3D CAD drawings, point clouds, DEM/DTM/DSM terrain models, orthophotos, GIS analysis or even virtual reality outputs.
The Pilot: The pilot may or may not be the same person as the surveyor. The pilot is critical, as they must be aware of all relevant Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) legislation as well as the wider rules governing the use of the drone; keeping the survey safe and legal. They are also essential in ensuring the image acquisition (flight plan) is flown in accordance with the surveyors’ design. Finally, they are there to take control should an emergency arise be it, component failure, airspace incursion (bird or other aircraft) or signal interference resulting in unplanned behavior of the drone.
Dronetec Consults happens to have the survey grade drones, the reliable cameras and payloads, the Professional Surveyors recognized by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS), and the Certified Drone Pilots licensed by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to help support your projects.
For more enquires and information about our Unique Solutions which spans from industries such as Construction, Agriculture, Mining ,Energy and oil & Gas and many more….
Visit www.dronetecconsults.com or send us a mail to droneteclimited@gmail.com
Contact Us: +233541512712/+233555281229
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