Saadiyat Topology Survey: A GeoDrones Success Story

The Challenge

The Saadiyat island is one of the prime locations in Abu Dhabi. A lot of earth-moving activities spread across 700 hectares of land definitely require a periodic report of quantities.

But the island is natural and untouched. The land contains tens and hundreds of ponds, lakes, muddy areas, mangrove trees, etc.

And the client requested the GeoDrones team to survey a large portion of the island to capture the current situation, and identify the inaccessible areas, count trees, and quantify the amount of water that needs to be dredged to start the real construction works.

The Proposed Solution

Our Approach was to map the island using the Phantom 4 RTK and the DJI M600, marvels of engineering by DJI.

This was the perfect drone for the job. Its Key Features include:

DJI Phantom 4 RTK Key Features

• RTK module
• 1” CMOS Sensor
• GS RTK APP
• Time Sync
• OcuSync
• D-RTK 2 GNSS Mobile Station

DJI M600 Key Features

• Works with Zenmuse Gimbals / Cameras
• Works with Ronin-MX Gimbal
• Up to 33.2 Pounds Total Take-Off Weight
• Integrated Lightbridge 2 Support?

The Execution

We had over 550 Hectares to cover and we did those in only 15 Flights and a total flight time of 6+ hours.

With an industry-grade camera and sensor module on the Phantom 4 RTK and the DJI M600, we were able to capture over 6000 images and 50GB of RAW Data.

All data was gathered in 2 days and with an accuracy of 2.2 cm.

The Results

In over 2 Days we were able to produce the following data for the clients:

• 2D Orthomosaic
• Digital Surface Model
• Point Cloud
• 3D Model
• XYZ ASCII Grid
• AutoCAD Drawings
• Accurate Bathymetric depth survey of the lakes and ponds

The Benefits

The alternative was to conduct a manual survey, which would've taken weeks and the data wouldn't have been accurate.

Not to mention the manpower required for such a huge survey. The cost of operation, the post-processing time, and the data output limitations.

With Drones, we avoided all of that.

We were able to provide the following benefits to our clients:

• We completed the project in significantly less time.
• The cost of operation was significantly low.
• The manpower requirement was limited to only a team of 1-3 skilled teammates.
• The output data formats were more than adequate.
• And above all, the data was accurate and trustworthy.

Conclusion

This was a challenge for the GeoDrones team indeed, to cover over 550 hectares of land in 2 days and post-process the data to come up with numerous forms of actionable data.

GeoDrones team stood strong and completed all the project deliverables to the satisfaction of the client.

This is what it means to be at the forefront of a technology that is rapidly being implemented in every business strategy around the world.

And this project was another example of how we as a team face challenges here at GeoDrones.

Do you have a challenge that's too much for your plate?

DM us for a FREE Consultation?