VTOL fixed-wing drone have fundamentally changed the way mapping and surveying work. Some people confuse the two, but they are different. While both are airborne data collection for ground units, the measurements require permission from the relevant national authorities; mapping is not required.
Advantages of drone mapping and surveying
Work efficiency
Compared with traditional manual surveying and mapping, UAV surveying and mapping can collect a larger range of data in a shorter time, and greatly improve the accuracy of the collected data. The efficiency of drone surveying and mapping is more than 100,000 times that of traditional manual surveying and mapping.
Short delivery time
From collection to product delivery, a combination of drones and the right back-end software reduces production to an average of 4 to 6 days, compared to the 2 to 3 weeks that traditional methods typically take.
What equipment is needed for drone mapping and surveying?
• Ground Control Points (GCPs): Airborne observable targets measured with high precision to which operators can tie their digital models. These may include do-it-yourself targets (for example, marking paint, wood plastic or cardboard targets), targets that absorb GPS signals and record them for post-processing for fixed observation points and fixed landmarks.
• GPS receiver and data collector: A GNSS receiver, usually on a pole, is synchronized with a data collector to resolve ambiguities, process observed data to calculate position and dynamically reproject points to the desired coordinate system.
• Geodetic Datum: An abstract coordinate system with a reference surface (eg sea level) used to provide a known location to start surveying and map creation.
• Local Coordinate System: The local space-time dimension in the latitude, longitude, vertical, or time dimension identified by a coordinate variable, often referred to as the state plane.
• Real-Time Kinematic (RTK): A GPS correction technology that makes real-time corrections to location data as the drone surveys and captures field images.
• Post-Processing Kinematics (PPK): A GPS correction technique that corrects location data after it has been collected and uploaded.
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