Drones are very helpful tools in architecture and urban planning because they help collect precise data on a given topography. With newer and better technology being developed each year, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to collect urban data is a growing trend.

Over the past ten years, the costs of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fell rapidly and began to be adopted by federal and local governments seeking to produce geo-references (GPS) or 3D maps more detailed than satellite imagery.

Which are its uses? In short, this kind of mapping could be used to secure land rights, to update maps in real time and even to understand the patterns of unplanned settlements (1). In humanitarian work, drones “enables improved logistics, damage assessments, disaster risk reduction, and a quick overview of the condition of a community,” according to Unicef. (2)

In Asia and Latin America, drones are being especially useful in the evolution of territorial cadastres — public registries that manage information relating to land parcels (3). In East Asia, government officials are using drones to modernize land registries and evaluating its potential use for the administration of the property tax system.

“This is not hype. This is going on right now, and it’s very exciting,” said Kurt Schwoppe, the Business Development Lead at Esri, an international supplier of geographic information system (GIS) software. (4)

Schwoppe offered the example of the Chesapeake Conservancy, an organization based in Maryland whose aim is to protect the Chesapeake Bay estuary on the east coast of the United States. This non-profit is using drones to map vegetation patterns and evaluate vegetation health, a stark contrast to the rustic quality of the previous technology, the 30-meter photography.

Cutting down on costs

Surveying jobs that used to take days or even weeks (taking photographs and carrying out a soil analysis, for instance) are now completed in minutes with the use of drones, said Frederick Gordon, a senior valuation surveyor at Jamaica’s National Land Agency.

“When I say I’m more efficient now, I’m way more efficient,” Gordon says. “We had a project recently that was surveying 100 acres of arable land and once the drone was flying it was done in under five minutes. From that photography we can extrapolate videos, photos, terrain, trees and more.” (5)

Challenges

The main challenge when dealing with drones is to comply with existing air traffic management rules, especially in areas with high air traffic concentrations. Organizations or governments using UAVs must know the local laws in relation to civilian use of drones and other unmanned aircraft.

Robert Herman, the co-founder and CEO of REscan, a 3D mapping company, explains that while there are several areas where you can’t fly or need permission, some apps being developed can give you automatic authorization to fly in a designated area.

“You just mark the area you want to fly in and as long as you stay under 400ft and in line of sight, you can get authorization to fly in most places,” Herman said. (8)

Our take

Drones can be used by cities to create 2D and 3D mapping data as well as for special land surveying jobs in a cost effective way. If you want to know how we can help you implement this solution, please contact us and request more information.

References

(1) Wihbey, J. (2017). The Drone Revolution, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy [link]

(2) Unicef Innovation (2016). "UAVs: The Next Game-Changer in Development? A look at the use cases of drones in humanitarian purposes", Office of Innovation [link]

(3) Wihbey, J. Op. Cit.

(4) Constans, I. (2018) "Mapping Out the Future: How Imagery Plays in to Government", GovLoop [link]

(5) RICS (2021). "Skills for surveyors: mapping made easier", MODUS [link]

(6) TraceAir (2021). “The Real Cost of Surveying: How Drones Save Time and Money” [link]

(7) Wihbey, J. Op. Cit.

(8) RICS, Op. Cit.