How drones are helping infrastructure

Lauded by many as the next-big-thing-in-construction and derided by some as gimmicky, there’s no doubt that drones are making their presence felt in the world of infrastructure. Autonomous field vehicles are predicted by Gartner to reach the Plateau of Productivity in 2-5 years, and while there’s still plenty of hype around how drones will revolutionise [insert your chosen construction activity] this article reviews some of the ways that drones are already adding real value to designers, constructors and owners. This article illustrates:

• Mining operations
• 3D city modelling
• Planning papal visits
• Monitoring construction progress
• Environmental management.

Capturing 3D reality from photographs

Being able to capture information about existing infrastructure assets (sometimes called scan to BIM) is a vital step in designing, constructing, operating and maintaining them – whether you’re a local authority monitoring construction across a city or a mechanical designer needing to know the position of an existing pipe flange. With reality modelling - ContextCapture - you can produce highly accurate 3D models of existing real-world conditions from simple photographs. Drone-mounted cameras are increasingly being used to fly pre-programmed routes and automatically take the necessary photographs – and clever software does the rest. A wide variety of cameras and image formats can be used to create 3D models - from smartphones to highly-specialised airborne or terrestrial multidirectional acquisition systems. Here are some of the ways that reality models are already being used to provide significant business benefits.

Mining operations

The mining industry is undergoing a signi?cant era of change with a shift into automation, and innovation is turning new technologies into disruptive capabilities that present opportunities for strong differentiation and big leaps in ef?ciency. Drone-based reality capture is playing an important part in collecting, interpreting and disseminating spatial data from the mine face through to the boardroom. Surveyors at mine sites often faced long lead times to take and process measurements and then collate the data. Translating that data into information that could be understood in the boardroom was another challenge. Reality capture provides operators with up-to-date 3D models and visualisations of their mines, giving them greater insight and more timely information for their planning and operations.

Reality capture is also being used for monitoring inventories and stockpiles, and checking for potential geotechnical issues on and near the site. The ability to integrate the hardware capable of collecting this visual data, coupled with the capacity to properly interpret spatial data in real time, is giving some mining companies a real edge.

3D city modelling

To effectively manage all of the information associated with urban infrastructure cities need a 3D geospatial information system (GIS). A 3D city GIS can add tremendous value to the project delivery process by providing everything from enhanced visualisation to more in-depth analysis of existing infrastructure, and 3D models enable a more realistic view of the world around us. A 3D city GIS is essentially a collection of functionality allowing data, users, and processes related to a city’s infrastructure to be effectively managed. It includes a 3D city model suitable for the management and geo-coordination of detailed infrastructure information – which can come directly from the reality capture 3D model.

Try for yourself with this example: Navigating a 3D city model in real time

Planning papal visits

Okay, this one’s a bit of a niche market but if you’re in the papal visit planning business then drone-based photogrammetry is for you (see footnote). The video below shows the 3D model created for planning the Pope’s recent visit to Philadelphia, using a mixture of base imagery, aerial photography and street-level images. The aerial photographs were actually captured from a police helicopter but they could just as easily have been taken using a drone – although licenses to fly drones in urban areas can be hard to get. Software was used to build a detailed photo-textured 3D ‘reality mesh’ CAD model from 28,000 digital photographs with a geometrical precision of less than two pixels. The event planning team used the resulting model for route and security planning, site logistics, seating design, and so on.

Try navigating around the city model: Philadelphia in 3D

Monitoring construction progress

Why have surveyors in the field to measure progress when you can fly a drone at regular intervals and compile a 3D model showing actual progress? Surveyors can spend less of their time at the ‘grunt’ end on site and more time doing the smart stuff. Automated measurement using drones is currently more suited to external works but it won’t be too long before they become a regular sight inside buildings and tunnels. The example below shows how reality modelling has been used on a major hospital construction site to capture existing conditions, monitor changes and then automatically highlight changes week-on-week.

Environmental management

The example below shows how reality capture has been used to create a highly accurate 3D model of a stretch of coastline that’s subject to erosion. By regularly capturing 3D data it’s possible to automatically detect areas subject to accelerated erosion by comparing differences in the CAD models, enabling appropriate action to be taken. The 3D CAD model can also be used in other applications to perform tasks such as wave impact analysis, so that engineers and scientists can better predict the likely impact of changing weather patterns on areas of coastline deemed to be at risk.

Try navigating the coastal mapping model: 3D model of coastline

This is a fluid simulation of a two-metre wave crashing against a 3D model coastline, using data captured from photographs.

The future

We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what drones could do in the future. As designers, constructors and owners continue to embrace their use then we’ll find many more applications for this rapidly evolving technology. In the meantime, many users are already reaping significant business benefits.

Now, back to how drones are set to revolutionise [insert your chosen construction activity] . . .

Footnote: Drone-based reality capture is also suitable for assisting with the planning of visits by other dignitaries including but not limited to: heads of state, religious leaders (all denominations), film stars, rock stars, sports stars, and Oprah Winfrey.

Credits: videos are from the AEROmetrex YouTube channel, where you can see the original high-definition versions.