Carlson, Brigance & Doering, Inc., uses drone Lidar to create a boundary survey in Southern Texas
UAV Pilot and GIS Specialist, Laura Brown, pilots the mdLiDAR1000 aaS on a drone surveying mission.
Rome, NY – Traditionally, boundary surveys are not conducted using drone technology. However, the team at Carlson, Brigance & Doering, Inc. (CBD), a civil engineering and surveying firm in the Austin Texas area is using drone LiDAR to create updated, accurate Boundary Surveys in the all-new webinar premiere of Down to Earth, Beyond Boundaries. CLICK HERE to watch NOW.
“Down to Earth” is a reality series that shows how real surveyors collect data and turn it into real deliverables, despite challenging terrain, rough weather, and hidden dangers.
On these new episodes, the team at CBD needed to survey a challenging, 550 acre, tract of land in Southern Texas, where the property boundary follows the Colorado River, which has changed significantly since the original survey from the late 1800s.
A traditional survey on this project could take a field crew a few weeks to complete. That is why CBD decides to use drone LiDAR to create an updated, accurate boundary survey in only a few days.
Laura Brown, UAV Pilot and GIS Specialist, prepares the mdLidar1000 aaS.
The first episode introduces Aaron Thomason, R.P.L.S. and Vice President at CBD, as he reviews the project, challenges, and end deliverables needed. Aaron sends UAV Pilot and GIS Specialist Laura Brown, into the hill country of Bastrop, Texas to collect the data using drone Lidar.
“Collecting the lidar data will allow us to generate these high banks and low banks and any of the other terrain features we’re having to deal with in order to create a boundary on this project,” Thomason explains. “There’s also some drastic elevation changes in the topography along the river. So, it makes much more sense to use a drone that’s 50 meters in the air to collect the data, rather than introduce some hazardous terrain to climb.”
However, Mother Nature doesn’t always like to play along. A triple threat of wind, water, and foliage make surveying the banks of the Colorado River a Texas-sized challenge.
Data collected helps to visualize a LiDAR point cloud of the Construction site to help calculate fill quantities.
In Episode 2 you’ll follow Laura as she handles over 14,000 linear feet of steep banks, muddy terrain, and rushing water, by using the drone LiDAR to safely collect the data.
“Wind and weather are the main challenges, especially this time of year,” said Laura. “I also need to be aware of any wildlife in the area or any livestock. I’m on undeveloped property, quite a lot and that’s one of the main advantages of the Microdrones system- the drone can get to areas I might not be able to access.”
The final episode of the series wraps in the CBD office, where Laura uses mdInfinity, a complete software solution for Drone LiDAR, to see if the data can be processed and visualized to create a point cloud of the property and determine an accurate boundary.
See if Laura and the team at CBD can overcome the Texas-sized challenges and help deliver the project on time.
About Microdrones
Microdrones grew out of the collaboration between the German inventor of the world’s first commercial quadcopter and a determined surveying payload and software developer in North America. The result is a global aerial mapping technology company that delivers complete and reliable mapping systems specifically developed for the surveying, mining, construction, oil & gas, and precision agriculture industries. Microdrones Integrated Systems are industrial tools addressing specific complex mapping challenges for professional customers, relying on a fully integrated geospatial workflow that enables cutting-edge software technology from Microdrones to transform raw data collected in the field by Microdrones survey equipment into valuable high-quality survey-grade data. Microdrones is widely recognized for its LiDAR technology leadership. Microdrones has engineering centers and manufacturing facilities in Germany, Canada, France, China, and the United States, as well as a sales, support and distribution network spanning six continents. Microdrones serves markets around the globe. To learn more about Microdrones, visit www.microdrones.com or follow @Microdrones on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.