The Truth about Drones

in Mapping and Surveying

Surveyors already have access to ground-based, manned flight, and
satellite data, so will they embrace this new technology in earnest?

By Bill McNeil, Contributor/Advisor, and Colin Snow, CEO and Founder, Skylogic Research, LLC
Image credit: Future Aerial
 Introduction
According to 2015 statistics from the US Department of Labor, A June 2016 Wall Street Journal article mentions that survey-
there are 44,300 surveyors in the United States. But mapping is ing and engineering company McKim and Creed plan to have
practiced by a larger population of cartographers, topographers, one drone pilot per each of their 21 field offices. According to
photogrammetrists, civil engineers, and geographers – it’s not Christian Stallings, their research and development manager,
exclusive to the surveying industry. The American Society of Civil drones can inexpensively create images with resolutions of fea-
Engineers lists more than 150,000 members in 177 countries, tures 1 to 2 inches in size when conducting survey plots of a
and the Imaging and Geospatial Society has 7,000 supporters. square mile or less.
All of these disciplines can be grouped under a broader category
called geographic information systems (GIS). GIS professionals Drones capture data that can be used in a wide variety of sur-
provide a wide variety of land-related services like identifying veying and mapping applications. Some of these include the
property boundaries, subdividing land, and surveying construc- following:
tion sites for placement of buildings. They also produce
topographic and hydrographic maps, volumetric calculations for 1. Automated mapping – Workflow for automated mapping ap-
stockpiles, and flood insurance maps, among other services. plications begins by establishing control points. These are
either ground features with known coordinates or markers
The number of surveyors is actually projected to decline by two placed at known locations around the area to be mapped.
percent from 2014 to 2024 because of improved surveying This is a fundamental element of mapping because ground
technology. Even though surveyors are a fraction of the broader control points establish (1) scale, or the relationship be-
population of GIS professionals, how will the improved survey- tween the map distance to the real world distance, (2) fea-
ing technology that is affecting them apply to that broader GIS ture height, and (3) north orientation.
population? And given the downbeat forecast for surveyors
compared with the numerous upbeat billion dollar projections Once control points are in place, the drone’s flight path is
of drone use from the FAA and other industry observers, the calculated by using a mission planning application. This so-
question becomes, Where do commercial unmanned aircraft lution enables the drone to fly autonomously at a set alti-
systems (UAS) or drones fit into the surveying technology mix? tude while taking pictures at two or three-second intervals.
Each image taken should overlap the previous picture by
In this paper, we’ll answer that question and show how small 80% to the front and 60% to the side. The screen shot in
drones have been used successfully in surveying and mapping Figure 1, from Esri’s Drone2Map for ArcGIS solution, illus-
thus far, review competitive and traditional approaches offered trates the typical lawn mower flight pattern created by a mis-
by incumbent technology, discuss the opportunities and chal- sion planner.
lenges posed by drone technology itself, outline the lessons
learned, and discuss what’s next for drones in this sector. Figure 1 - Typical Mission Planner Flight Plan

Use Cases
Today, the exact same data collected traditionally by ground-
based survey tools can now be gathered faster and more cost
effectively by drones. Luke Wijnberg of 3Drone Mapping puts it
this way:

“With quick deployment times and low maintenance

costs, we can map pretty much anywhere, at any time.
Drones allow us to use all kinds of payloads such as
near-infrared cameras to map vegetation chlorophyll lev-
els for agriculture. Not only do drones make things
cheaper and faster for a surveyor, but they also make
our job safer. We can now survey areas remotely that
perhaps have some environmental risks to them, such
as quarries, cliff edges, polluted areas, etc.”
Image: Esri

2 © Skylogic Research, LLC

 Terms to Know Photogrammetry is a technique which uses photography to
extract measurements of the environment. This is achieved
An orthomosaic — sometimes called orthophoto, through overlapping imagery, where the same feature can be
orthophotograph, or orthoimage — is an aerial photograph seen from two perspectives. With photogrammetry, it is
geometrically corrected (“orthorectified”) such that the possible to calculate distance and volume measurements.
scale is uniform; the photo has the same lack of distortion Companies use these outputs to create “point clouds” or
as a map. Unlike uncorrected aerial photographs, an 3D images used to do things like render a building.
orthophotograph can be used to measure true distances,
because it is an accurate representation of the Earth’s Digital elevation model (DEM) is a digital model or 3D
surface. It’s been adjusted for topographic relief, lens representation of a terrain's surface created from terrain
distortion, and camera tilt. Typically, an orthomosaic is elevation data. A digital surface model (DSM) is the earth’s
a composite of individual photos that have been stitched surface including objects like trees and buildings. A digital
together to make a larger one. terrain model (DTM) is the earth’s surface without any such
objects.

Some mission planners enable data to be streamed real Drone-generated photographs that are incorporated into an
time from the drone to the operator while in flight. However, orthomosaic can identify boundaries and land features from
most data is accessed from the drone after it has landed. which 2D maps can be created like the one shown in Figure 3.
The screen shot in Figure 2 illustrates raw data from a flight. This data for mapping boundaries and property assets will
From here, different GIS software applications can process have a major impact on the real estate and appraisal indus-
the images into 2D, 3D, and point cloud maps. try because the acquisition cost of data is low.

Figure 2 - Drone Flight Raw Data Figure 3 - Cadastral Survey Example

Source: Comparative Study on Cadastral Surveying

Image: Esri 3. Corridor surveying – Drones are uniquely suited for mapping
road, highway, and railway infrastructures because they are
2. Cadastral surveying – Cadastral surveying establishes prop- extremely cost effective compared with collecting data via
erty boundaries consisting of land and buildings on a parcel. manned aircraft, satellites, or road crews. Simple image
In most states, only licensed land surveyors can conduct capture can render photomosaic images of pavement or rail
boundary surveys for the purpose of buying, selling, or rent- conditions, lane marking, vegetation encroachments, and
ing land, buildings, or housing. This is a valuable service for general road conditions as well as provide planners a digital
the real estate market because surveys describe: surface model (DSM).
• The size and extent of the property being bought or sold
Two years ago, SkyLab, a Mexican surveying company,
• Utility easements or right-of-ways teamed up with DroneDeploy to map 620 miles of highways
• The location of buildings, fences, and driveways for a government agency (Figure 4). It was a difficult job be-
• Potential encroachments cause of mountainous terrain and locals were less than ex-
cited about picture-taking drones flying overhead.
The real estate market has been a significant source of rev-
enue for surveyors, but the 2007 housing meltdown greatly
Despite the obstacles, an 8-person team successfully flew
affected their business. Income has largely returned but in-
five DJI Phantom 3 Professional drones and collected
expensive data from drones can further aid the recovery.
120,000 images of highways stretching 1,000 kilometers.

3 © Skylogic Research, LLC

 Figure 4 - Highways Mapped with DroneDeploy Figure 5 - Orthomosaic and Digital Surface Model

Source: DroneDeploy Source: DroneDeploy

Drone Deploy then processed these images with its new tion every 5 or 10 feet. This would be time consuming and,
map engine and resultant orthomosaic and DSM (Figure 5) depending on the type of material, it could be dangerous.
was delivered on time to the client. According to Michael The process would also generate fewer reference points
Winn, DroneDeploy’s CEO, the images were detailed enough than a DSM of the same area created with data from a
to see a dime on the ground. drone flight. VanZanten further indicated it would take a
whole day for a man to cover the 30-acre site, but his DJI
4. Volumetric calculations – As we have noted in The Truth Phantom 3 did it in 30 minutes. After the drone flew over the
About Drones in Construction and Infrastructure Inspection, site, data was processed into the DSM (see the right half of
mining and construction sites frequently need to measure the image in Figure 6). From here, it was just a matter of
the volume of stockpiles and material extraction pits. drawing polygons around each stockpile to get the associ-
Drones are proving to be an excellent tool for this applica- ated volume.
tion because, once mapped, DSMs can be created of the
area and ground features measured. 5. LiDAR mapping – LiDAR allows mapping and surveying pro-
fessionals to capture minute details that photos can’t —
Dallas VanZanten, owner of SkyMedia Northwest, an aerial and with those details create precise digital representation
mapping company, explained that if traditional mapping of objects, buildings, and the ground. LiDAR is based on the
methods were used to calculate stockpile volume, a ground- same concept as RADAR, but it uses laser light instead of
based surveyor would need to measure the stockpile eleva- radio waves. By sending out laser beams in all directions,

Figure 6 – Stockpile Orthomosaic and DSM Example

Source: DroneDeploy

4 © Skylogic Research, LLC

 collecting the reflected energy, and performing some nifty
high-speed computer processing, a scanner can create a Opportunities
real-time, virtual map of the surrounding area. These repre- Drones are going to have a major impact on the surveying and
sentations have many uses. mapping industry, but perhaps to a lesser degree on traditional
surveyors. As mentioned earlier, the Department of Labor is
But most LiDAR units are heavy and — up to now — had to forecasting a 2% drop in the number of surveyors from 2014
be mounted on trucks or manned aircraft. So over the past to 2024. On the other hand, the Labor Department is project-
couple of years manufacturers like Riegl, Routescene, ing 29% growth for the photogrammetry category. This means
Velodyne, and YellowScan have reduced the size and weight more and more photogrammetrists will do surveying work and
of their units such that it’s now possible to mount them on more surveyors will use photogrammetry tools for mapping.
large multicopter drones. By coupling novel drone-mounted In other words, inexpensive data collected from drones has
LiDAR systems with vision cameras, advanced computer pro- and will continue to blur the lines between photogrammetry
cessing, and GPS, it has become possible to create a re- and mapping.
motely piloted flying LiDAR scanner. Vendors like Phoenix
Aerial Systems and XactSense offer integrated solutions. There is another issue at play here. The process of physically
flying a drone is not unique to map making. The type of data
LiDAR drone solutions cost significantly less than vehicle- collected is determined by the instrument payload — not by
based mobile mapping systems. Photogrammetry-based so- the drone operator. In other words, it really doesn’t make any
lutions may be a low-cost purchase, but results are difference if the application is precision agriculture or mapping
time-consuming to produce and thus expensive to under- a pipeline, the deliverables are the information extracted and
take. Also, when compared with photogrammetry, LiDAR is a processed by the crop consultant, the photogrammetrist, or the
much better mapping technology when the potential for surveyor.
strong shadows, areas of poor contrast, or featureless sur-
faces exist. Photogrammetry also requires you have access Drone technology is moving extremely fast. It’s very possible
to the site to survey your ground control points, which is a many surveyors would rather hire a service provider to collect
time-consuming task. LiDAR eliminates this task altogether. 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,
Competitive Traditional they will not only affect the industry, but they will also create
new opportunities for independent contractors who, based on
Approaches their experience, may be able to fly and collect data less ex-
pensively than surveyors. The value add is the knowledge and
Today, surveyors have access to a variety of terrestrial data processing skills of the surveyor and photogrammetrist,
data. Satellite data from companies like DigitalGlobe, Air- not their drone-flying skills.
bus Defense & Space, TerraBella, and PlanetLabs offers
extensive coverage with wide spectral capabilities, but at The real industry growth may come not from the surveying and
times resolution can be relatively poor and clouds may mapping community using drones but rather from the surveying
provide inconsistence coverage. Higher resolution data and mapping community using drone data purchased from in-
with the same wide spectral capabilities can be acquired dependent UAS contractors or service providers. If you think
from manned aircraft, but it can be expensive and is also about it, how many survey companies own satellites?
subject to weather conditions. Drone data, suited for
smaller jobs, can be acquired on demand, is of very high Inexpensive drone data has created opportunities for those
resolution, and is the least expensive. Ground-based people or companies that want to provide drone flights for hire,
data acquisition using GPS receivers and total stations and it’s also spawned new GIS software applications to
(an electronic transit and distance meter for reading process the data.
slope distances) also collects high-resolution data but
the process can be time consuming and expensive.

Satellite, manned aircraft, and ground-based data

Challenges
Drones are not just another tool in the surveyor’s toolbox —
sources have been trusted and reliable resources that
there are strings attached. Under newly released Federal Avia-
surveyors have been using for years. Many mapmakers
tion Administration (FAA) Part 107 regulations, small commer-
will need to see real cost savings and operational bene-
cial drones must remain within visual line-of-sight (VLOS) of the
fits before they consider adding UAS to collect data. Un-
remote pilot. This may not be too much of a hardship when sur-
like some of the firms referenced in this paper, most
veying a real estate parcel, but it could be a significant impedi-
surveyors will not be early adaptors.
ment when mapping a long narrow highway.

5 © Skylogic Research, LLC

 The range of small drones continues to be a problem. Most
quadcopter drones have a flight time of less than 30 minutes. What’s Next for Drones in
It is certainly possible to land, change batteries, and continue
the mission, but this interruption can affect the flow of data Surveying and Mapping?
and introduce a manual process that adds labor cost. In this paper, we selected examples of prosumer drones and
cloud-based software because they are inexpensive, ubiquitous
Package cost is another consideration. Quadcopters that have tools that hold the promise of collecting and processing data
good cameras are available from vendors like 3D Robotics, DJI, at an affordable price. On the surface, these prosumer drones
and Yuneec and are priced under $2,000. However, this only look like pretty much alike. And even at second glance, it’s
buys the drone -- and maybe a couple batteries. If you want to hard to differentiate their current technology from that offered
be in the mapping business, you will need more. The “system” by the major survey equipment vendors. But these vendors —
part of a UAS part includes things like the mission planning like Leica Geosystems, Riegl, Trimble, and Topcon — which
and data processing software needed to convert raw drone now sell their own drones costing $25,000 or more, are much
data into orthomosaics, 2D, 3D, and point cloud maps – and better known brands among surveying and mapping firms.
that does not come cheap. GIS data solutions have quite a dis- That’s their advantage. At this time, there is simply too much
parity in price. For instance, 3DR’s Site Scan UAS can cost of a disparity between the $2,000 cost of a prosumer drone
over $10,000; Esri’s Drone2Map desktop solution costs and the $25,000 or $50,000 cost of a well-known brand.
$3,500 plus data storage fees; and Pix4Dmapper can be li-
censed for $5,000 per year. The point being, many surveyors The same is true for mapping and surveying software. As the
and other mapmakers may not want to invest in expensive demand for drone-sourced data grows, the pressure to provide
technology that could be obsolete in 18 months. lower cost data processing solutions will mount. We expect es-
tablished companies like Esri will be able to maintain a higher
price for their applications because they are selling to their in-
stalled base – at least for a while. As the 800-pound gorilla in
Lessons Learned the GIS industry, Esri can sell 1,000 copies of Drone2Map
One of the things we’re learning is fast-moving technology without acquiring one new customer. Other solutions like 3DR’s
often outpaces the market it is supposed to serve. Many sur- Site Scan, DroneDeploy, PrecisionHawk’s Datamaper, and
veyors will be more than content to sit on the sideline and pur- Pix4Dmapper may be forced to lower the cost of their applica-
chase data from licensed drone pilots, just as they now do with tions or see less expensive solutions enter the market.
manned aircraft and satellite vendors. We expect we will wit-
ness a greater adoption rate when UAS technology becomes On the horizon we see that DroneDeploy is working closely with
less fluid and less expensive. DJI to make thermal mapping a reality now that the Zenmuse
XT camera is widely available for the DJI Inspire and Matrice
But others are not sitting on sidelines; they are innovating and drones. The company reports in their newsletter that process-
finding new ways to use drones. Cemetery mapping probably ing is currently in the beta test phase, with automated flight for
wouldn’t be near the top of the list when thinking about map- the XT coming soon.
ping applications, but it’s a simple example that illustrates the
power of what small drones can do. According to AARP, there Keep your eye on this space for more innovation. We believe
are 115,000 cemeteries in the US. Many still use old paper there will be more technological advances as the resolution of
records to map out new property. This antiquated system can camera sensors goes up and the cost, size, and weight of
lead to burying people in the wrong grave plot. PlotBox, an Irish LiDAR comes down. We also expect GIS professionals will con-
startup, has developed a cloud-based application that uses tinue to find new ways to use drones beyond the ones men-
drones to identify and map available plots on cemetery tioned here.
grounds. The founders, Sean and Leona McAllister, indicated
they could fly a 50-acre cemetery that would normally take up
to 100 hours, in 30 minutes. Plotbox has been called the
Google of cemeteries and has already sold $280,000 worth
of services.

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unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry. We provide research-based insights needed to make critical investment decisions
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6 © Skylogic Research, LLC