Drone Mapping Advantages vs. Conventional Mapping Methods

Drone mapping is becoming a popular use case for drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles. There are several reasons why it is getting so much traction with various industries:

1.    Cost-effectiveness: Drones can cover large areas quickly and at a lower cost than traditional survey methods, such as using manned aircraft or ground surveys.

2.    High-resolution imagery: Drones can capture high-resolution images and data that can be used for detailed mapping and analysis.

3.    Safety: Drones can access areas that are difficult or dangerous for humans to reach, such as steep terrain, hazardous sites, or structures.

4.    Speed: Drones can cover large areas quickly, reducing the time required to complete a mapping project.

5.    Flexibility: Drones can be easily deployed and controlled, allowing for mapping in a wide range of conditions and environments.

6.    Data collection: Drones can be equipped with a variety of sensors, such as cameras, LiDAR, and thermal imaging, to collect a wide range of data for various mapping applications.

7.    3D mapping: Drones can generate 3D models of landscapes and structures, providing more accurate and detailed information than traditional 2D maps.

8.    Regular updates: Drones can be used for regular monitoring and updating of maps at a fraction of the time and cost vs. traditional methods, which enables tracking changes over time possible for organizations that couldn’t afford it before.

9.    Accuracy: Drone mapping can provide just as accurate maps as traditional methods, as it can use GPS and other technologies (such as including ground control points) to ensure precise GIS information.

Most of the drone mapping can be performed using drone photogrammetry, but other technologies such as lidar can also be used with the drone technology for certain use cases.

If you want to learn more about drone mapping, its uses, how much it costs, and how it is performed, read more details in our What is Drone Mapping blog post, and view V1DroneMedia drone services for AEC industries.

V1DroneMedia is a drone services provider in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. We service midwestern states, and our drone services include drone mapping, drone videography (including FPV drones), drone photography, full video production, virtual tours, drone construction services, and drone training.

V1Dronemedia’s Chief Drone Pilot has 20+ years of experience in commercial airlines, and 30+ years in remote control aviation. If you are interested in contracting drone mapping services and are looking for a quote, contact us!

Façade Inspections in Cleveland by Drone

Why Building Façade Inspection is Needed

A municipal ordinance was passed in 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio, to require façade inspections for buildings of certain age and height to be completed every 5 years – see the detailed ordinance here. Since this ordinance was passed in Cleveland, 2 other major Ohio cities, Columbus, and Cincinnati followed with passing similar ordinances the same year.

As with most ordinances, Cleveland's ordinance passing was a direct consequence of an accident: a parapet wall of an 1890s-era building in downtown Cleveland crumbled, releasing several bricks onto the sidewalk and the road, thankfully without human casualties this time (a parked minivan without passengers was damaged).

The ordinance that was passed requires buildings that are at least 5 stories or 75 feet in height above grade and are of a certain age (between 30-50 years old), to be initially inspected and re-inspected every 5 years.

How was the building façade inspections performed in the past

In the past, this type of inspection was done by inspectors needing to get close to the walls to visually inspect them and document the conditions, which meant erecting and installing the scaffolding, or elevating them by another method, which gets the person close to the source of inspection, but it is not very efficient:

1.   It takes time for them to move within the scaffolding, or be elevated by a crane platform to every spot that needs to be inspected and documented

2.   It is not the safest for the person involved (a falling accident is a possibility)

3.   It can be expensive with the time and equipment involved, plus the addition of insurance costs when performing this work at dangerous elevations.

These types of inspections can be costly to complete when using traditional methods. Facade inspections can run into $10K-$20K, depending on the size of the building. The cost is usually made up by using large equipment or erecting scaffolding structures, inspectors' time that is necessary to visually inspect and document the conditions of the asset, and the report write-up within the guidelines of such inspection.

As one can see, a large proportion of the cost of such inspection is driven up by the resource and time used to visually inspect and document current conditions effectively. The use of autonomous inspection tools that don't require the investment of such resources can cut costs drastically. Drones do just that for such use cases as facade inspections.

Why Use Drone For Building Façade Inspection

A drone allows for the faster and safer acquisition of the visual inspection and documentation data of the current conditions of the façades. Equipment and personnel need is reduced to a drone capable of shooting hi-res photography, and a drone pilot who is qualified to fly safely and legally and can produce such photography.

This photographic output generated by a drone can then be viewed by a qualified design professional on their computer (engineer or architect), certified in the inspection of the specific elements that make up the façade of the structure, and licensed by the State of Ohio, or an inspection agency that is qualified under the Ohio Building Code for Special Inspectors (as per the ordinance).

In addition to basic aerial photography, drone imagery can be set up to be acquired with certain parameters (automated flight path and special photography settings) with an intent of being processed through software to generate point clouds and 3D models, that help capture the building condition overall. Such models allow the inspector to zoom in at any point for a closer look during the inspection, and even produce measurements between points for needed calculations. These models can be stored digitally and updated with a new model at any point in time.

Looking to hire a drone company for a façade inspection in Cleveland?

If a company considers hiring a drone pilot to perform a façade inspection data capture (whether the building facilities management, an inspector or agency), it will need to do its due diligence - see our article Hiring a Drone Pilot for details on how to do that, or contact us to provide you with the quote to perform façade inspection data capture by one of our skilled drone pilots.

If you want to train someone within your organization to fly drones to capture such data, check out our drone training page for drone training classes offered in Cleveland, and contact us to schedule, or sign up for our drone class notification list.

Why hands-on drone flight training is important for drone pilots

As a new year begins, many of us are making New Year resolutions. V1DroneMedia's resolution is to bring the most up-to-date and simple-to-understand drone knowledge to you: information about drone regulations, drone industry, equipment capabilities, flight skills, and other drone information to those interested in learning more about drone technology and getting started in flying drones safely and legally.

A lot of drone pilot schools are focused on education and compliance with the FAA drone laws and regulations and getting the Part 107 Remote Pilot License. And this IS where you should start your drone journey if you are thinking about getting a drone or just purchased one because you want to be aware of where and how to operate your drone safely and legally, avoid any negative law enforcement or 'well-wisher' attention, and can intelligently answer any questions about how and where you can legally fly.  We have covered all these subjects in our blog post A Beginner's Guide To Drones and have regularly scheduled Drone Training Courses that you can attend to learn this information and get ready for the FAA Part 107 Drone Certification Test.

V1DroneMedia’s Chief Pilot teaching Traffic Patterns during an FAA Part 107 Drone License Prep Course

However, learning safe drone operations or procuring your Part 107 Drone Pilot Certificate is only a starting point (one should walk before they run). The essential part of your drone training should be getting hands-on time flying the drone. That means being comfortable with operating the drone apps (such as DJI, Litchi, etc.), performing takeoffs and landings, learning to maintain and calibrate the drone, performing routine flight maneuvers, operate the camera to take pictures and video. These skills cannot be taught in a classroom, and you need them to fly the drone proficiently if you are serious about becoming a drone pilot. You must get out there and learn to fly your drone, just like manned aviation pilots spend hours flying in a simulator or with an instructor before flying on their own (I spent hours and days in simulator sessions during my training as a commercial pilot, and had to do recurrent training every year in a simulator as well).

While flying a drone doesn't come with the liability of flying an aircraft worth millions of dollars with people on board, it is still very important to understand the systems that make a drone work and be proficient with your equipment to ensure safe operation.

A drone is usually needed to shoot an aerial photo or video of a certain subject matter or an object on the ground or even high up in the air, and you need to have skills to fly the drone to focus on a subject, position the camera of the drone to shoot video or photo from different angles while flying around the subject, maybe even track the subject and shoot continuous video or photographs.

V1DroneMedia’s Chief Pilot with students during a drone flight session

Many of these flight maneuvers are built into intelligent flight modes in the apps nowadays, but you would still need to know how the different intelligent flight modes work and become proficient at setting them up and incorporating them into your workflow (if needed). Learning to fly in a manual mode is also very important and can be beneficial in many situations – especially if you would have to manually take control of the aircraft for any reason.

To help fill the gap in hands-on drone flight experience for aspiring drone pilots V1DroneMedia is now offering Drone Operations classes with both classroom and outdoor time for learning the drone apps, flying procedures and hands-on time, and Hands-on Flying Sessions for individuals and groups tailored to individuals' skill levels and goals. If one of your resolutions this year is to explore a drone as a hobby, learn to fly a drone proficiently, or learn advanced drone flying skills to further your drone industry career goals, Contact Us to schedule your session today! And get on an e-mail list to stay informed about our group class schedules.