Surveying and Mapping: The Right Tools for the Job

from Inside Unmanned Systems, story by Renee Knight

As the unmanned sector evolves and more manufacturers enter the market place, buyers have an increasing array of hardware and software options to consider at various price points.

For professionals looking for an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to fly surveying and mapping missions, it might seem like a cheaper, more basic system is a good place to start. Recreational and entry-level systems, however, may not have the capabilities needed for these types of applications—even though some manufacturers claim they do. Choosing carefully, keeping clearly in mind the desired results and how those results will be used can save drone operators, and their clients, time and money, experts told Inside Unmanned Systems.

“There’re many factors that come into play,” said Michael Singer, founder and CEO of DroneView Technologies, which provides aerial data acquisition and data processing for surveyors and civil engineers. “Understanding the project parameters will help to dictate what the right tool is that solves for that end result. And that’s an important thing because there’s lots of press that we’ve all read that you can go on Amazon and buy a drone and do surveys tomorrow with some cloud-based solution. The reality is you can build a model, but the models that have survey grade accuracy require a lot more knowledge and expertise in order for them to be horizontally and vertically accurate.”

See the complete story HERE