Ever asked
“Why drones” ?
“ Why are drones all of a sudden taking over “ ?
“When did unreliable and expensive toys turn into the eyes and ears of the Surveyors and Engineers?”
Here in 2020, drones are flying high; both figuratively and literally and impacting the survey industry at an alarming rate.
As a drone pilot with a surveying / Geomatic Engineering background, I can say with so much certainty that drones now mean a quantum leap and will soon dominate the Survey industry because of its inventiveness, practicality, and affordability.
If Drones now can truncate the whole survey process and reduce work time or duration, then it obviously means a reduction in financial investment for every project, for every survey institution and in every nation.
If it took a month or two to do a topographical survey for 2000 acres, it now takes a week or two with drones, hence reducing the financial input, also labour etc.
The most fascinating thing is that drones don’t only help to increase productivity or reduce work duration but also give a qualitative dataset at the end of the day depending on purpose and personnel. In my experience, not all surveys done by drones are equal in accuracy but I have always said that sometimes all it takes is the right tool in the right hands to make a project run more smoothly or achieve a particular work goal.
With the introduction of drones, surveyors won’t become obsolete anytime soon only if we broaden our horizon, embrace these technologies and work with it as we should. As highly qualified professionals, if we can bring ourselves to learn and understand the rising need of drones and technology, it’s certainly going to be a big win for us and the industry.
An insightful article Boatemaa