Let’s look at how Drones are being used in construction today. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), and Small UAS (sUAS), aka Drones, continue to evolve in technology capabilities as well as affordability. Drones are used in construction from pre-development and design to post-project handover and all points in between.
How Drones Are Being Used in Construction Today
Similar to other construction tools and equipment, all drones are not the same having different capabilities to support various functions and usage scenarios. Some are optimized for precision mapping, others with multi-spectral sensors (e.g., Thermal, InfraRed (IR), Lidar, etc.), and still photo or video optimized. Some drones are optimized for the outdoors, including cold or bad weather, while others excel for indoor or outdoor low-wind fast action or what some refer to as FPV (First Person View). Thus similar to construction, an experienced drone operator will have different types of drones in their toolbox to meet various needs.
Drone imagery captured includes downward (e.g., Nadir) looking views for maps/models and oblique (from the side) looking inward or outward. Other drone imagery views include progress from horizontal below grade and vertical from single-story to 400′ plus tall structures. In addition, there are vertical or façade views of a structure’s exterior for progress reporting and inspections. Other sights include flying within (inside) a structure showing progress, build-out, and special events, among other captures on a one-off or recurring basis.
Pre-construction
As part of pre-construction activities, drone imagery creates 2D and 3D map models integrated with Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools. Some examples of integrations include BIM and other associated tools such as Autodesk, Blender, Cupix, DroneDeploy, OpenSpace, Procore, Sketchfab, Sketchup, and Trimble, among others.
Combined or composited views using drone-captured images provide a timely current view of a site location vs. a dated “Google” type perspective. Inward and downward-looking views of projects and site locations should be familiar; however, a current trend also uses outward-looking views and vertical facades. Outward-looking views enable developers, designers, architects, engineers, and others to combine digital renderings with real-world views to create ultra-realistic renderings of projects.
Construction
During construction, a small project would vary from simple aerial photos, either one-off or recurring, showing the project and its progress. Drones in construction are not limited to commercial or large industrial, roads, and bridge projects; they also are used for smaller residential projects.
Meanwhile, some projects have more advanced coverage of what is being captured and how often, along with integration with BIM tools for virtual reality real-time collaboration, project management, reporting, and progress tracking. For example, combining drone and ground-based imagery from 360 cameras mounted on hard hats and hand-held monopoles creates virtual reality views.
Other uses for drones during construction phases outdoors and indoors include:
- Civil, Mechanical, Structure, and other project aspects
- Site preparation, logistics locations, traffic, and supply flow
- General project management and progress reporting
- Inspections, verification including of hard-to-reach subjects
- Identify and view differences in as-built vs. design
- Validate exterior finishes, including paint colors
- Environmental, regulatory, and related reporting
- Milestones, unique and critical events
- Punch list, remediation, dispute resolution
- Monitor stockpiles, cut fill, volumetrics
- Counting structures, trees, RTUs, and other items
- Compliment fixed ground-based security cameras
- Lessons learned and sharing with other teams in an organization
Post-construction
Post-construction use of drones includes “hero” or “glamour shots” of a completed project to support marketing, social media, and website, among other benefits. In addition to day and nighttime “hero” shots (still and video), drones are also used for documenting the finished project, including warranty details and addressing future issues. Other post-construction drones support final inspections and warranty documentation, along with documentation of systems operations and recurring inspections. Assessments are done to monitor energy efficiency (heating, cooling), water leaks, and compliance.
Tips and Wrap Up
Drones are an enabling technology for today’s construction sites, providing safer, faster views of activities and helping manage project time and costs. Like other tools, drone benefits come from knowing how, where, when, and why to use them for a given task. Today, drones should be part of your construction toolbox with skilled, trained, licensed, insured operators that can maximize drone capabilities to meet your project needs.
The conversation should shift from how drones are used in construction today to how drones can help you in your current or next project. If you already use drones, ask yourself how to do new things with them. If you are not using drones, ask yourself why, and confer with a licensed professional drone operator for ideas to benefit your project.
By Greg Schulz, Founder at STORAGEIO
Greg Schulz is a professional licensed drone operator specializing in complete lifecycle construction and related projects indoors and outdoors; learn more at www.picturesoverstillwater.com/construction.