Surveying firm Fox & Associates invested in two Microdrones systems, deploying both photogrammetry and LiDAR payloads to produce accurate topographic surveys and volumetric calculations with less field time and better results.
A Microdrones blog post by Renee Knight.
Surveying firm Fox & Associates invested in two Microdrones systems, deploying both photogrammetry and LiDAR payloads to produce accurate topographic surveys and volumetric calculations.
About three years ago, the team at Maryland-based surveying firm Fox & Associates decided it was time to invest in a drone. The goal was to create topographic surveys that the team would use for in-house work, reducing the time crews had to spend in the field while also producing a better deliverable for clients.
For Survey Technician/Crew Chief Richard Nagel, it was important to find an end-to-end solution. He wanted something that was easy to use, and that didn’t require him to make separate hardware, payload and software purchases. He also knew the team would have to spend time learning how to pull the data they needed out of the point clouds generated, so it was critical the system itself had a short learning curve.
The Microdrones mdMapper1000DG checked all those boxes. The system also provided IMU alignment for photogrammetry to speed up processing time- another feature that was important to Nagel.
“The industry was moving in this direction, and we wanted to get in front of it, not be the last ones to adopt the new technology,” Nagel said. “At the time, I looked at other companies and it seemed like the Microdrones system was the most comprehensive and professional. It’s just a well put together product.”
Earlier this year, the team decided to invest in a second Microdrones system: the mdLiDAR1000HR, which provides high resolution point clouds and increased coverage. While the mdMapper1000DG works great for bare earth and fields, the firm needed a solution that could penetrate through vegetation as well. The mdLiDAR1000HR gives them that. The two pilots, which includes Nagel, use the drones an average of four times a month, reducing time in the field and enhancing safety.
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