Mapping and Measuring by RPAS/Drone

Terrain Models with Drone Data

Scan Survey As offers mapping and modelling via RPAS / drone over construction sites, landfills / land reclamation, and gravel fills for mass calculations or engineering. We also use drones as documentation tools for larger projects. This method is an efficient system of measurement that is quickly mobilized.

Scan Survey staff members preparing to launch a drone to collect data.

Photogrammetry and Laser

Our drones are equipped with various camera and sensor payloads. These cameras take high-overlapping images, which are then post-processed with a photogrammetric software to obtain a detailed description of the surface.

 

Drone and RPAS services offered

The result of the calculations is a georeferenced 3D Pointcloud that provides a basis for producing a TIN-model. In addition, we deliver orthophotos on most of our drone projects.

The Pointcloud has a point density of 25-400 points per square meter, depending on flight altitude and various set parameters during the planning phase of the mission. The TIN-model can be delivered in several different formats, depending on what the customer wants. The orthophotos are typically delivered with a ground resolution of 1 – 5 cm (GSD), depending on the flight altitude and the customer’s needs.

TIN from image matching

Laser scanning is performed with our DJI M300 drone. The drone laser has 3 returns for each laser shot and provides a good representation of the terrain surface even in dense forests. The typical point density on the ground is around 150-300 points per square meter.

AK and M300_a7iii7

Our Dronepilot preparing to execute a laser scanning mission with the DJI M300.

Would you like to know more? Contact our Head of Department!

Platforms

Scan Survey uses both fixed wing (aircraft) and multicopter as a platform. Our RPAS-fixed wing drone is a small aircraft made of carbon and light materials that we have adapted to our use. Our RPAS multicopter is a helicopter drone with 4 or 8 rotary motors. The multicopters have a gyro-stabilized camera that can be tilted up and down for photos and video, both above and below constructions.

Onboard the drones are mounted navigational equipment which assists in flying the majority of our missions on autopilot, and it can be flown manually too if needed. We use different drones, cameras and lenses depending on the type of mission. We have good experience with different types of sensors, and therefore use what is always best for the specific assignment.

In areas with dense infrastructure and high population, we fly with a safety parachute on the drone. Active use of FPV (First-Person View), ie “live” video image from the drone to the pilot, also contribute to very good safety procedures during the operation.

A finished terrain model of an area using data captured from a Drone.
Drone service offered using one of the best Fixedwing drones in the industry, the Wingtra
drone and parachute_

Certified RPAS / Drone Operators

Scan Survey meets the Civil Aviation Authority’s requirements for operation in the categories:

  • Open category A1 / A3
  • Open category A2
  • Specific category SORO

All our pilots are approved in accordance with the regulations. We have all compulsory insurances that cover damage to third parties, as well as approval from the National Safety Authority for imaging with airborne sensor systems.

Different methods for different terrain

Open areas without vegetation, such as landfills and mass roofs, are well suited for photogrammetry/image matching for the production of point clouds. In areas with dense vegetation, laser scanning is normally used to produce a terrain model.

Increasingly, point clouds from car-borne and drone-borne laser scanning are being combined for the best possible data set. The point density from our car-borne Leica Pegasus: Two system is very high and suitable for further digitization and vectorization of road situations, railway tracks and other infrastructure. In the same projects, side terrain, forests and other objects that are not visible from the roadway with a drone are often mapped.

M300 and car___a7iii10
A finished terrain model of an area using data captured from a Drone.