How Can Drones Benefit Construction and Inspection?

Construction projects are often spread across a large area, which can become difficult to manage without the proper tools. Drones are one of the best ways to address this logistical problem. For building inspection use cases, you will be able to accurately view, monitor and track the structure, construction process and take thermal checks on the exterior of the building’s surface using our drone kits. This imaging ability allows you to safely and quickly check the status of a building to find defects, leakages, and corrosion issues without needing to spend on additional personnel and equipment. Our drone experts at DSLRPros are ready to help your organization with solutions specially configured to assist with your building inspection or construction requirements.

DSLRPros is the professional's choice for custom-built drone solutions specifically tailored for construction, inspection, surveying, and mapping use cases.  One of our friendly and experienced drone experts will work with you to find the best equipment for your specific needs.

DSLRPros offers specialty drone packages from a variety of drone manufacturers that have each been specifically designed for different verticals.  From our Autel EVO II 640T Roof Inspection Package, the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced Industrial Fleet Package, to the DJI M300 RTK Ultimate 3D Mapping or DJI M300 RTK Energy & Inspection Package, each package comes complete with everything needed to get the job done.

With DSLRPros, you'll get the right equipment at the right price, with the best customer and technical support and service in the industry, and top tier in person training at your location- included free of charge with many packages.

Each of our professional drone kits are designed to quickly, safely and efficiently provide you with actionable data. Ultimately, determining which solution is best depends on your specific needs, and which sensor/camera payload technology is best suited to capture that data.

Whether you work in urban planning or land surveying and need an aerial surveying solution to easily capture drone images for use in digital elevation models or you require the absolute accuracy of LiDAR to generate point cloud digital terrain models, or radiometric thermal imaging to quickly and safely acquire accurate measurements of industrial infrastructure heat signatures, DSLRPros has specific equipment tailored to that use case.

Most drones payloads incorporate one or more of these three types of imaging sensors-

Payloads like the DJI Zenmuse H20 or Zenmuse P1 capture very high resolution images in the visible spectrum.  In other words, they capture traditional photos and videos.  But these are more certainly not your average drone cameras for taking selfies and vacation videos.  Each payload carried utilizes highly sophisticated drone mapping technology and precise gps coordinate data that is shared with the airframe.  When paired with the M300 drone, these payloads are able to capture data that can be used for a variety of specialty use cases.

The P1 is a full frame camera specifically designed for drone photogrammetry. Photogrammetry is the process of gathering numerous aerial photographs of a subject and transforming them into high-resolution 2D or 3D models from which precise measurements may be deduced. This can be accomplished with specialized drone mapping software used for image processing that finds common features in images and combines them to construct a photo mosaic that accurately depicts a place.

Using different photogrammetry software can result in different outputs from the aerial data and images captured, such as orthomosaic maps, 3D point cloud models, and Digital Surface Models.

Photogrammetry can also be used to accurate volumetric measurement, allowing for data analysis of the resulting 3D map, which provides a very accurate model from which measurements of materials and supplies can be easily made.

The H20 is a high resolution 20 MP camera that offers an incredible 23x hybrid optical zoom with active image stabilization and EIS- perfect for drone inspection uses where you need detailed imagery but can't get too close to the subject.  With a 1200m laser rangefinder, night scene mode and an IP44 rating, the H20 is a powerhouse tool for professional drone operations.

Unlike Optical sensors, thermal sensors don't capture light that we can see with the naked eye.  They capture heat.  More specifically, they capture infrared radiation that objects emit, known as a heat signature.  Thermal cameras with radiometric capabilities are able measure the exact temperature of any item in their field of view.

This data is incredibly important in industrial inspection. Accurate temperature data can be used to determine errors or issues in a number of inspection scenarios.

During a building or roof inspection, thermal aerial images can help pinpoint where insulation is thin and heat is escaping.  This imaging ability allows you to safely and quickly check the status of a building to find defects, leakages, and corrosion issues without needing to spend on additional personnel and equipment.

Thermal drones are often used to inspect solar panels.  As the drone flies over the solar panels, it is able to take a wide image of the surface, and very easily detect thermal anomalies which signal an issue.

Thermal camera images are able to be customized for different types of data analysis through the use of various color palette settings.

The thermal imaging color palettes typically range from a hot white configuration in which hot items are displayed in white and cooler ones in black, to a hot black configuration in which the color patterns are reversed. Color palettes can show heat in different ways, such as the rainbow setting, which displays the hottest items as red, yellow, or orange, while the coldest are displayed as blue or black.

There are many exciting thermal payloads available for different use cases.

For drone pilots who want to be able to capture both optical and thermal imagery, many commercial drones offer Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) solutions that integrate both visible and thermal sensors.

This is helpful when an inspection requires the ability to take accurate heat measurements, as well as traditional images, which can aid in identifying any externally visible damage to the subject, or aid in locating the exact spot that needs repair.

The DJI H20T is a EO/IR version of the H20.  It offers the same specs as the H20, but with the added benefit of an integrated radiometric thermal camera.  The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced, Autel EVO II Enterprise 640T and the Autel Evo II DUAL R also include dual sensors.

The FLIR Vue TZ20-R is a unique payload as it offers something others don't.  With two thermal sensors with different focal length lenses, the TZ20-R is able to provide thermal imaging at up to 20x zoom with far more clarity than competitors.  Because of the dual sensors, the TZ20-R has four times as many thermal pixels on target as other thermal payloads, which rely on digital enhancement to get a closer look at the subject.  This results in a blurrier picture the more the image is zoomed in.

While not a EO/IR payload on it's own, the TZ20-R can be paired with an optical payload like the H20 on the M300 or M200 v2 series platforms using a dual mount.  This allows for the simultaneous capture of both spectrums.

One of the most exciting technologies to become much more accessible with the rising popularity of drone surveying and inspections is LiDAR.

LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, involves sending laser pulses and determining how long it takes for the lasers to return to the sensor. With the help of inertial measurements and satellite positioning data, the drone's LiDAR sensor can determine exactly where a point is located in space.

LiDAR point clouds are formed by combining these points with specialized point cloud software. The method is highly accurate, though the maps need to be paired with other data to add more detail, including color.

Compared to other methods used by mapping drones, LiDAR is excellent for mapping very small items. LiDAR data, for instance, can be used to generate a point cloud that includes thin cables and electrical lines. In addition to being able to work in low-light conditions, the technology can also penetrate through thick foliage to collect spatial data, resulting in an accurate digital terrain model.

A second advantage is that, since LiDAR point clouds are direct measurements, they have a relatively smaller file size than high-resolution photographs used in photogrammetry. As a result, it is faster to post-process LiDAR survey data than photogrammetry models, which can be very valuable for customers who prioritize efficiency or want to complete an aerial mapping mission within a fixed time.

The DJI L1 is a compact and affordable LiDAR + RGB aerial survey solution for the M300.

The L1 integrates a Livox Lidar module, a high-accuracy IMU, and a RGB (optical) camera with a 1-inch CMOS sensor, all on a 3-axis stabilized gimbal. When used with the Matrice 300 RTK and the DJI Terra mapping software, the L1 provides full-day 3D data capture that captures precise details of complex structures and provides highly accurate reconstructed models.

This is the only LiDAR system on the market at this price point and with these features.

When a construction project job site is spread across a large area, it can become difficult to manage using traditional methods. Commercial drones are one of the best ways to address this logistical problem and improve project management for construction operations.

Anyone who has been following construction industry news in the last several years has been made aware of the many ways construction drones and inspection drones eliminate long standing pain points. This explains the growing popularity of these incredible tools.

Laborious and expensive survey processes that used to take days of on site work with a team can now be accomplished in less than a few hours with a single drone operator.

With the cost of drones decreasing and the technical capabilities of these power tools dramatically increasing, advanced drone data like thermal imaging no longer requires the expense or expertise of a specialized drone service subcontractor to operate.

New advancements in drone technology make it easier than ever for anybody to learn to fly.  Additionally, many of our construction drone and inspection drone specialty kits like the Matrice 300 RTK Ultimate 3D Mapping Package, the Matrice 300 RTK Energy and Inspection Package,  the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced Industrial Fleet Package and more include a free day of in person training at your location.

One of our expert drone trainers will travel to you to help get you up and running on your exact equipment.  This is by far the quickest and most effective way to start utilizing these powerful tools.

Drone technology can be used for accurate progress monitoring of an entire construction project- from tracking building materials across a construction site, to providing multiple stakeholders with a solid understanding of the status of construction processes by using up to date data for in depth analysis and progress reports.

Accurate data collection has long been of paramount importance when it comes to inspection and construction projects- with margins of error often being measured in feet and inches, rather than percentages.

Given the large financial implications that can result from miscalculations in construction, it's easy to see why project managers and construction managers are always on the lookout for ways to minimize potential errors.

As drone surveying technology advances, the implementation of a construction drone program has become common on construction company job sites across the world.

There is no limit to the ways drones can provide construction companies with valuable aerial data at all stages of the construction process. Aerial surveys of the entire site in the pre construction and planning phase allow for precise measurements that a project manager can use to identify the optimal position of equipment, such as crane locations, establish job site perimeter security and avoid dangerous locations or liabilities, and plan accordingly to address those safety concerns.

The real time data provided by the high quality sensors on unmanned aerial vehicles gives a bird's eye view that most construction companies find invaluable in helping them improve efficiency in the execution of their construction plans.

With the low cost of gathering data collected with regular drone surveys, construction managers have the ability to generate weekly, daily, or even hourly progress reports based on highly accurate and actionable drone data.