Ryan Holmes
Multivista Program Director – UAS
Multivista has utilized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) also known as drones, to capture construction project sites since 2013. Since then, what started as a niche offering has evolved into a must-have for top construction firms across North America and beyond.
For an update on the evolution of construction drone services, technology, processes, and the value UAV/drone reality capture can bring to your jobsite today, we reached out to Ryan Holmes, Multivista Program Director —Unmanned Aerial Systems.
“The biggest change is that drones are no longer a luxury on jobsites,” Ryan says, “They’re a necessity. As our clients’ technical capabilities grow, we’re seeing a surge in requests for mapping exports to support their VDC workflows.”
Flying a drone over a jobsite is not to be taken lightly. It’s absolutely essential to have a trained, certified, and insured pilot who has filed all necessary waivers, uses the right equipment for the job, and has a coordinated team in place to ensure every operation is compliant and meets or exceeds the highest safety standards. But the benefits are substantial and using drone services on jobsites is transforming how teams operate by enhancing efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
“Our clients continue seeing value in an interactive, 3D map of their project sites,” Ryan says. “The ability to view and measure exactly what they are working with—site wide—makes it easier to schedule things like earth removal or relocation, or tracking assets such as the location of equipment, tools, and materials.”
That’s just a fragment of the benefits drone photography bring to construction sites though. For a broader look, Ryan put together the following list: transforming how teams operate by enhancing efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
Current UAV/drone photography applications in construction:
- Site surveys and mapping: Drones can capture data from large areas in minutes, providing detailed topographic maps and 3D models to aid in planning and design.
- Progress monitoring: Regular aerial imaging allows project managers to track progress and identify delays or inefficiencies.
- Safety inspections: Inspection drones can access hard-to-reach areas, such as scaffolding or tall structures, reducing the need for risky manual inspections.
- Material management: UAVs can monitor stockpiles of materials, ensuring accurate inventory tracking. We can capture materials at facilities with both indoor and outdoor storage.
- Environmental impact assessment: Drones equipped with thermal and multi-spectral cameras can assess environmental conditions and monitor compliance with sustainability goals.
As the originator of Multivista’s UAV/drone program, Ryan says one of the most exciting parts of his job is how fast drone technology is changing.“All tech is evolving quickly,” he points out, “but to look at the drones we have in the air today versus what we were using just a decade ago…it’s bonkers. The hardware alone is so much more robust than when we started. And that creates a foundation for better deliverables, and more benefits to our clients.”
Recent changes in construction UAV/drone technology
Improved hardware and payload capabilities
Modern drones are equipped with advanced sensors, cameras, and payloads that enhance their utility in construction projects. Key improvements include:
- High-resolution imaging: Cameras with 4K or higher resolution now allow for detailed site mapping, inspections, and progress monitoring.
- LiDAR integration: Some drones are now capable of carrying LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors, enabling precise 3D mapping of terrain and structures, even in low-visibility conditions. When traditional mapping with high resolution images meets its limits, LiDAR systems can fill the data void between photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning from systems on the ground. LiDAR can provide more precise edge detail and generally does a better job penetrating vegetation and seeing past obstacles to capture the surfaces beyond them.
Enhanced safety
Continued improvements with safety features and equipment enable our most advanced drones to avoid obstacles, have safer return to home functionality, and provide more robust automated flights. When operating in more hazardous environments, these drones can carry onboard parachute systems that can drastically reduce the impact energy to prevent injury and damage to people and property in the rare event of a flight systems failure.
Looking to the future, Ryan says he’s keen to see further integration of LiDAR across the Multivista network.
“Photogrammetry scanning is still very useful,” he says, “But with LiDAR, we can pick up better detail on facades and roofs. If you need to measure the distance between some powerlines and the ground, you can. On a campus, it will pick up all the lamp posts, penetrate vegetation and find the ground below a lot better.”
“There is definitely still a cost ceiling for a lot of people,” he admits, “but the benefits are there and if there’s one trend we’ve seen with hardware costs, they tend to come down over time. The price is already a lot better than it was two years ago. The future isn’t totally here yet, but it’s exciting.”
To learn more about how the construction drones of today can help your project come together more efficiently and safely, reach out for a demo or a chat with one of Multivista’s drone specialists. Stand by for lift off!
