What is drone mapping?

Drone mapping (sometimes called drone surveying) is a fairly simple way to collect data with drones. As the name suggests, it consists of drawing maps of an area of your choice with a drone to obtain all kinds of useful results, such as an orthomosaic, digital elevation models and 3D models. Drone photogrammetry is the process of capturing aerial photographs of a location to create a complete 3D map with GPS coordinates and precise measurements. GPS systems are absolutely essential in drone mapping.

It allows drones to fly along pre-programmed flight paths, fly within the designated reconnaissance area, and geo-tag photographs as they are captured. Therefore, images captured during mapping contain visual and spatial data that is processed during image rectification. In this step, the operator basically ensures that no one approaches the drone during takeoff or landing and that the weather conditions remain optimal for the reconnaissance mission. However, if you want to capture beautiful videos, perform mapping missions, and take raw photos, the Phantom 4 Pro drone is the best mapping drone.

Check that the battery of your drone and connected devices, such as tablets, are fully charged and that the memory card of the drone camera has enough empty space to capture the entire project. You've understood how drone technology works and now is the time to learn more about the applications of drone technology. With drone mapping, construction professionals can quickly survey large or hard-to-reach areas to obtain accurate site measurements at every stage of the project, even before the tender and at the start of the project. Drone mapping is a revolutionary alternative to traditional cartographic methods, since it offers numerous advantages compared to traditional methods of cartography and topography, for example.

Now that you know the benefits and limitations of drone mapping, let's discuss how drone mapping actually works. In the construction industry, drone mapping is used to create accurate topographic maps, inspect work sites, and monitor the progress of construction projects. Before you start mapping with drones, you'll first need to consider what type of drone will best suit your needs. During a study carried out with drones with an RGB camera, the ground is photographed several times from different angles and each image is labeled with its coordinates.

Now that you have a better idea of what to consider when choosing drone mapping software, it's time to look for the best drones that can help you capture the data you need to create accurate and detailed maps. In addition, they require more specific skills to handle them and can be much more prone to errors than maps made with drones, which allow huge areas to be inspected with great precision thanks to their vertical perspective and cutting-edge software, such as Propeller, that can measure things with incredible precision. You can easily create your topographic flight plan with the WingtraPilot smart drone flight planning app on the tablet.