DRONE SURVEYS

MIKE STAPLETON
LANDDATA SURVEYS PTY LTD
DRONE – 1900S
DRONE -2000S
 PERSPECTIVE
• CONVENTIONAL SURVEY COMPANY
• DRONE IGNORANT
• EXPERIENCE ON PROJECTS
 “Quantum leaps in Surveying”
• During the past 50 years, surveying and
engineering measurement technology has
made five quantum leaps: the electronic
distance meter, total station, GPS, robotic
total station and laser scanner. Unmanned
aircraft systems or drones will be the sixth
quantum leap in technology. (Frank Willis)
• http://www.pobonline.com/articles/96996-how-can-drones-
transform-surveying
DRONE - SURVEYING
 ACTIVITY
• Maptek (Mining computer tech company) made
“a significant investment in…. DroneMetrex”
• Hexagon (Swedish measurement and design
group) “has acquired the drone manufacturer
Aibotix”
• Accenture (consulting and technology firm) –
“using drones is a ore efficient process, and can
produce more real time information in a much
safer manner than getting surveyors out on site”
• www.miningaustralia.com.au
 LANDDATA SURVEYS
• Clients requiring detail and contour surveys
• Seek to reduce costs
• Investigate innovative methods
• Various applications – different solutions
• Vast area
• Access difficulties
• Drone survey opportunities
 Questions regarding drone survey
• Could it achieve accuracy required for 0.25
contours
• Could trees and buildings be adequately
surveyed
• Determination of contours when grass is long
• Accuracy questions relating to surface
surveyed and actual ground surface.
• Could small features such as hydrants be seen
and mapped.
 EXTERNAL CONSIDERATIONS
• PILOT QUALIFICATIONS
• PROXIMITY TO AIRPORT (CONTROLLED AIR SPACE)
• WEATHER CONDITIONS – WIND (max 30km/h)
• ADMINISTRATION PAPER WORK WITH CASA
• ABILITY TO LAND
• RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
• EAGLES!!
 DRONE SURVEY
http://www.dronemetrex.com/topodrones.html
• Horizontal Accuracy 10mm and vertical accuracy of 25mm
• Capture high resolution data using pre-programmed, autonomous
flights;
• Equipped with IMU/GPS system which makes ground control points
redundant;
• Control circuit board goes with IP software to plan fully
autonomous missions, control the flights, and store high accurate
data in secure format;
• Have “Active" Gimbal camera mount and software controlled for
active counter-movement compensation of the drone airframe tip,
tilt, yaw movements.
• TopoDrones carry latest-model metric and calibrated camera
systems
• Our metric cameras can have 4-BAND digital sensors, which
simultaneously capture a near infrared fourth band in addition to
standard RGB, PAN, and CIR bands;
• Able to provide camera calibration databased on verified field
calibration reports.
 Dronemetrix
• Most drone mapping systems have been designed by remote
control enthusiasts or research scientists who have thought it
would be useful to attach a camera to a drone, and then try to
solve the photogrammetry.
• Dronemetrix designed to create an accurate
photogrammetric system that can then be adapted and
integrated onto a drone. Base data product is a very dense 3D
point cloud which is more than 100 times denser than LiDAR.
• The TopoDrone-100 is a photogrammetric mapping system
that ensures proper photogrammetric stereo models because
of gyrostabilised active mount for the camera and Per-Pixel
Photogrammetric Preprocessing software which accounts for
systematic errors of the camera and “aggressive” drone
movements in flight.
• For “bare earth” solutions, Dronemetrix claims two
advantages:
• The dense point cloud of accurate 3D points can be “filtered”
and processed with similar algorithms to LiDAR data for top of
tress or grass or building etc. versus the ground
• 3D photogrammetric stereo models are created checked by a
photogrammetrist to authenticate bare earth versus non-bare
earth. The human photogrammetrist can also perform
accurate 3D “heads-up” stereo digitising of any required
features (such as breaklines, fences, creeks etc.)

If an area is covered by very dense thick high grass (or say

wheat), then bare earth mapping is difficult for any
photogrammetric system because the “bare earth” is not
visible. In such cases, it may be possible to map the top of the
grasses and apply a suitable “datum shift”.
 Components
• Company – Vehicles - Mapping software
• Companies: Dronemetrex, Helimetrex,
• Vehicles: Topodrone, Aibot hexacopter,
microcopter
• Mapping Software
 Landdata
• Administration and management of projects.
• Establish ground control points
• Undertake check strings on levels
• Insert cadastral boundaries into data base
• Undertake infill survey in areas not visible
from drone
• Include services information
• Produce final plan and CAD file
 PARTIES
• CLIENT
• CONTRACTOR – LANDDATA SURVEYS
GOOGONG
• FLYING – AVMAP
• PROCESSING – DRONEMETRIX
SIDING SPRINGS
• FLYING AND PROCESSING – HELIMETREX
GOOGONG
http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/32259667.png
 GOOGONG
• Site of new estate development
• Rolling paddocks
• Few trees
• Some minor farm infrastructure
• Future estate development. Earlier stages
surveyed by conventional methods.
• About 580ha
 SCOPE
• Undertaking a detail survey of the site illustrated in orange,
illustrated in green and described as NH4 and NH5 in the
sketch attached to your email and shown below.
• Sufficient heights are to be surveyed to enable a digital
terrain model providing 0.25m contours to be formed.
• Survey all trees with trunk diameter of greater than 0.25m.
Heights, spreads and trunk diameters to be recorded.
• Survey and map all visible features.
• Heights are to be surveyed on Australian Height Datum and
co-ordinates on MGA.
• Indicate the location of property boundaries, easements
and services.
• No provision is made for tracing underground services.
 SIDING SPRINGS
• Long narrow site
• Heavily vegetated in part
• About 61ha
• Significant improvements
• Hard stand areas
• Services
• Plateau on top of mountain
• Asset management and design after fire
 SCOPE
• Undertaking a detail survey of the site illustrated in red hatching
shown below.
• Sufficient heights are to be surveyed to enable the creation of the
best possible digital terrain model providing 0.25m contours
wherever feasible.
• Survey all standalone trees with trunk diameter of greater than
0.25m. Heights, spreads and trunk diameters to be recorded. Areas
of dense vegetation will be identified as groups of trees with no
individual tree information provided.
• Survey and map all visible features.
• Heights are to be surveyed on Australian Height Datum and co-
ordinates on MGA55.
• Indicate the location of property boundaries, easements and
services. The location of property boundaries will be determined
using a best possible combination of the NSW DCDB, Deposited
Plans and any monuments found.
• No provision is made for tracing underground services.
 Australian Geographic
• Bushfire hits Australia’s largest observatory
• January 14, 2013

• A fire on Sunday night damaged Siding Springs Observatory in

Coonabarabran, site of the nation’s largest telescope.
• The fire, still out of control, has been burning for a week. So
far, it has ripped through an estimated 43,000ha of the
national park and its surrounds, destroying the visitor centre
and 33 homes, and damaging infrastructure at the Siding
Springs Observatory
SIDING SPRINGS
 Dronemetrix
• Deliverables:
• DTM of "bare earth” where visible at specified density (say) 10 points per
sq m;
• 0.25m contours (or interval to suit)
• 2.5cm GSD seamless orthophoto
• 3D line features digitised by photogrammetrist of Levels and location of all
existing improvements and land features such as fencing, tracks, roads,
edge of water features, top of banks, change of grades,
buildings/structures, trees, etc

• Time frames:
• Drone Flight; one day
• Mobilisation and demobilisation: “2 days"
• Data processing & Mapping products; three days
• 3D line feature digitising
 What Happened
• Sorry we can’t fly because we cannot land!
• Alternatives and associated compromises
 Helimetrix
• Data from 400ft
• Planned to achieve accuracy of 0.1, SE, 1 sigma, on clear ground
• Survey control installed by Helemetrix, surveyed by Landdata will
test UAS data
• Superfluous points removed
• Use made of airborne control system reducing need for ground
control marks
• Flight parameters include daylight hours, visually maintained
conditions, line of sight UAV operations, not above 400ft
• Landing zone 3m x 3m, 10m clear of man made structures, 30 m
from general public access areas
• A 300m wide safety zone along the UAV flight path
• Day to set up control points, half day to set up and undertake flying
• About three days to provide provisional data
SITE ADMINISTRATION
 SITE ADMINISTRATION

• ABUTS (AND ENCROACHES INTO)WARRUMBUNGLE NATIONAL

PARK – PLACE IN NATIONAL HERITAGE LIST

• 3 COUNTIES – LEICHARDT, BARADINE AND GOWEN

• 4 PARISHES – ELONGERY, CARAGHNAN, WHEO AND WOORUT

• 2 LGA’s – WARRUMBUNGLE AND COONAMBLE

• BOUNDARIES RUN THROUGH SITE (AND BUILDINGS)

 GROUND SURVEY
• Photo control marks – Static of GNSS at
extremities, with RTK of remainder linked to
static marks.
• Cadastral – survey of sufficient marks to
enable the mapping of the cadastre.
• Check strings – GNSS RTK
• Infill – often in areas invisible from air and not
GNSS suitable. Total station traverses from
photo control points.
 Impressions
• PLANNING
• Disappointed in the lack of investigation of site
conditions.

• TIMING
• The agreed time frame for the Googong project
was not met – at least a week late

• IMPROVISATION
 General Results
• String lines less than in conventional survey –
with underlying photograph it may be less
relevant
• Excessive number of triangles for DTM.
Uncertain whether civil design consultants will
cope with the amount of triangulation.
• Aerial image underlay is very valuable
resource for future planning
• Cadastral issues
 GOOGONG
• MAX DIFF 0.325
• MIN DIFF -0.249
• RANGE 0.574
• MEDIAN -0.009
• AVERAGE -0.011

• 54 OBSERVATIONS >0.1m DIFFERENT

• 121 OBSERVATIONS <-0.1m DIFFERENT
• 2551 OBSERVATIONS WITHIN +/- 0.1m
• (93.6% WITHIN +/-0.1m)

• FAILED TO DELIVER ON TREE SURVEY AS PROMISED

• MOST PROMISED TIME FRAMES WERE NOT MET
 SIDING SPRINGS
• AVERAGE -0.007
• MEDIAN 0.002
• MAX 1.215
• MIN -2.407
• RANGE 3.622
• FROM 1720 COMPARISONS,
• 1005 WITHIN +/- 0.1m
715 OUTSIDE +/- 0.1m.
59% WITHIN TOLERANCE

• IMPROVISED AND PRODUCED RESULTS QUICKLY AFTER SURVEY

• IS SURVEY SUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE TO PROVIDE CONTOUR INTERVAL?
 Clients
• Satisfied with result at first
• Aerial image – a plus
• Difficulty dealing with amount of DTM data
• If their software can’t cope – could scope be
defined to limit triangle extent
 CONCLUSIONS
• THE DRONE CAN PROVIDE A SATISFACTORY MEANS OF PERFORMING
THE REQUIRED SURVEY IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES – LARGE SCALE
PROJECTS AND PROJECTS WHERE ACCESS IS DIFFICULT
• IN ADDITION TO THE DIGITAL MODEL AND PLANS A COMPLETE
RELATIVELY CLOSE RANGE SET OF PHOTOGRAPHS WAS AVAILABLE TO
THE CLIENT
• SUBCONTRACTING THE FLYING AND PROCESSING INVOLVES
SIGNIFICANT ADMINISTRATION TIME WHICH SHOULD BE REFLECTED IN
THE PRICE
• SITES NEED TO BE THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED BEFORE DECIDING ON
SUITABILITY AND AN AWARENESS OF LIMITING FACTORS WITH
RESPECT TO DRONE FLYING IS NEEDED.
• UTILISING DRONE FOR SURVEYING REDUCES WORK AVAILABLE FOR
OUR STAFF
• THE TYPE OF VEHICLE CHOSEN IS DEPENDENT ON THE TERRAIN OF THE
SITE TO BE SURVEYED OR PROXIMITY.
• SPECIFICATIONS MAY NEED TO CATER FOR THE NEEDS OF END-USER OF
THE PROJECT AND MAY EXCLUDE DRONE USAGE.
 TO END
• WORTHWHILE TRIAL
• NOT AS HAPPY WITH RESULTS AS WE HAD HOPED
FOR
• BUT - WE WILL PERSEVERE AND SEEK OTHER
SUITABLE SITES
• GOOD OPTION FOR LARGE PADDOCK LIKE SITES
AND SITES WHERE SURVEY ACCESS IS DIFFICULT
• LESS SUITABLE FOR SMALLER SITES WITH
HARDSTAND AREAS
• "LANDdata Surveys will exceed our clients
expectations in the delivery of innovative land
surveying, spatial information and town
planning consulting services“
• LANDdata Surveys is the first survey firm in
the ACT to offer clients the option of a Drone
based topographic survey solution. This
enables us to provide faster and more cost
effective solutions on large suitable projects.