TIL that a single construction drone flight can capture data equivalent to a 3-person survey crew working for a full day.

I read a report from a university study that said this, and it made me reconsider the real cost savings on a site layout job I bid last month in Phoenix.

2 comments

2 Comments

derek_brown2816d ago

We ran a drone over a 12 acre site in Austin last year and had the topo done in under two hours. My old boss would have had a three man crew out there for two full days minimum. The data was so much more detailed too, we caught a drainage issue we would have totally missed with just a few spot elevations.

christophermurphy16d ago

It's like that everywhere now, honestly... tools just get smarter and leave old ways in the dust. You see it with regular cameras on phones killing point-and-shoots, or GPS in your pocket making paper maps feel ancient. That drone story is the same beat... a better tool shows up and the old method, with all its people and time, just can't compete. Makes you wonder what else we're still doing the hard way just because it's how we've always done it.