The Truth about Drones in Mapping and Surveying

Below is an excerpt from an excellent article written by Bill McNeil/Advisor and Colin Snow, CEO and Founder of Skylogic Research. It shows how drones have been used successfully in surveying and mapping thus far and outlines the lessons learned. It goes on to discuss the opportunities and challenges for GIS professionals, reviews competitive and traditional approaches offered by incumbent technology, and discusses what’s next for drones in this sector. The full text of the report can be seen HERE

“Drones are going to have a major impact on the surveying and mapping industry, but perhaps to a lesser degree on traditional surveyors. As mentioned earlier, the Department of Labor is forecasting a 2% drop in the number of surveyors from 2014 to 2024. On the other hand, the Labor Department is projecting 29% growth for the photogrammetry category. This means more and more photogrammetrists will do surveying work and more surveyors will use photogrammetry tools for mapping. In other words, inexpensive data collected from drones has and will continue to blur the lines between photogrammetry and mapping.

There is another issue at play here. The process of physically flying a drone is not unique to map making. The type of data collected is determined by the instrument payload -- not by the drone operator. In other words, it really doesn’t make any difference if the application is precision agriculture or mapping a pipeline, the deliverables are the information extracted and processed by the crop consultant, the photogrammetrist, or the surveyor.

Drone technology is moving extremely fast. It’s very possible many surveyors would rather hire a service provider to collect data than invest in a tool that can be obsolete is as little as six months. They may also consider short-term leases to ensure their technology is relatively current or just rent a drone when needed. Regardless of how small drones fit into the workflow, they will not only affect the industry, but they will also create new opportunities for independent contractors who, based on their experience, may be able to fly and collect data less expensively than surveyors. The value add is the knowledge and data processing skills of the surveyor and photogrammetrist, not their drone-flying skills.”