By Ted McIntyre
Drones and high-res cameras have gone next-level in construction imagery and data collection
Site inspections, security, a marketing video, ground mapping, perhaps the need for a high-definition image from a single moment in time. There’s a skyful of reasons to employ a drone for cutting-edge imagery and scanning these days, but you’ll have to be light on your feet—or perhaps even fly—to keep up with the latest technology.
“Drones are evolving at an astonishing pace,” says Multivista Program Director Ryan Holmes, whose company is a global leader in construction documentation. “The biggest change is the emergence of more capable drones in smaller packages, along with more sophisticated software for automated flight applications programs that provide more information and value to builders and developers. But larger aircraft have also been getting attention, with greater capacity, better electronics and redundancies for safety and reliability.”
The added advantage of that improved safety element means reduced liability, notes Misha Herschorn, founder and head pilot of OHBA member First Class Drones. “The biggest piece of recent technology might be the parachute system, which attaches to the drone and allows for safe and legal flights over people. This is how we’re able to shoot in populated areas like downtown Toronto. It has revolutionized our business and made our flights 100 times safer, which is obviously important to our developer and builder clients.
“Something else new are FPV (First Person View) drones,” Herschorn says. “You essentially fly them using a headset, allowing you to view things through their eyes. It enables you to fly in really tight spaces and to get non-traditional videos and images, such as flying through a crane—where people ask, ‘How did they shoot that?’”
For Jamie Reford, the head of business development at Volatus Aerospace, the most exciting advancements of this young decade may actually have come on the software and data management side. “Traditionally, we’ve been able to generate really cool 3D models, but a lot of our clients weren’t up to speed—in terms of their own software platforms or internal skillsets—to be able to digest and use the information that we were providing,” says Reford. “Now, through the advent of streaming and lightweight cloud infrastructure, we can basically upload a model via an online portal, and they can do all the analysis they need—or at least a large portion of it—through the cloud, without requiring any proprietary software.”
Map Quest
Lighter, more advanced payloads, meanwhile, are making for amazingly detailed mapping capabilities, Holmes notes. “A global shutter camera on an RTK drone, used in conjunction with accurate ground control points laid out on site and combined with software from companies like Agtek, now provides great value in tracking earthwork. This enables a contractor/builder/developer to have a better understanding of the site conditions and progress by showing them where the current conditions are with respect to the final design surface. You can also determine how many truckloads of material need to come on and off a site or be moved from one part of a site to another. There are obvious savings to be realized through this, as well as from the ability to make small adjustments to the final grade.”
The ROI opportunities are numerous, Holmes indicates. “It’s also a great tool for seeking estimates for roofing with custom reports, monitoring general progress, providing marketing material in the form of still shots, interactive panoramas, video and maps, as well as troubleshooting through inspections that would otherwise require a lift or scaffolding to obtain access to the views necessary.”
“Companies want to see how fast the job is getting done,” says Ontario Drone Solutions owner Daniel Wallis. “‘Did the soil get delivered? How much tiling do we need?’ It saves a lot of time, but it’s also a check for the future: ‘Did I really need all that much soil and that many tiles?’”
Sharing that oversight via the cloud provides builders and operations managers with the luxury of viewing their projects from afar—be it on a progressive basis through bi-weekly drone fly-throughs or the current status of the site. “Instead of you having to drive out to the site, I can go in for one flight, safely fly overtop people without being intrusive to anyone on the ground, and then you can press ‘play’ and do a virtual walk-through,” says Wallis.
Sometimes a drone is the only solution. “We were hired to help with the detection of electromagnetic (EMF) frequencies for a residential project in June,” Wallis says. “We’ve been providing sensor integration services for roughly two years. When homes, condos or apartments are going to be built near existing power lines, EMF frequency measurements are needed to ensure there is no risk of exposure. We enable a building biologist and electromagnetic radiation specialist to obtain accurate measurements from heights while recording the exact GPS location. Rather than be limited to a boom truck or ground-based measurements, clients will use our service to ensure they’re getting the most precise EMF frequency measurements, while keeping boots on the ground, as they ascend beyond the height of the power lines.”
Even custom builders and renovators are making use of drone technology, notes Reford. “Let’s say you’re doing a partial retrofit and want to keep the existing frame or want to extract quick and accurate plans from a structure, especially if it’s an older building and you don’t have up-to-date digitized documentation. We can generate a digital twin, which you can then use to extract your measurements. It’s also a single source of truth—once you document the site digitally, you have that in a particular condition in perpetuity.
LIABILITY INSURANCE
Such data can prove invaluable with respect to liability issues. “I recently had a forensic engineer in Toronto who needed to recreate an accident scene,” Wallis shares. “With my drones we were able to capture the necessary data and preserve it—and get it to him the same day.”
Sometimes, however, it’s a case of digging into the archives—and they can be extensive for a company such as Multivista, where hi-res image captures for a client can potentially number into the tens of thousands—each one mapped to an exact location so that users can go back in time to see varying moments in construction. Trades can also leverage as-built imagery to troubleshoot and solve issues.
“We have been involved in that area for nearly 20 years,” says Holmes. “As much as it’s important to know that the right detail was captured at the right time, it only holds value if you know exactly where to find it and are able to access it in a matter of seconds when you need it. I’ve been on site many times and seen, in real time, general contractors using our images to find electrical outlets, valves and even speaker wiring—from behind drywall and even tile—that were assumed to not have been installed.
“I got a phone call from a developer who said that one of the images in our very first shoot of their condominium build was worth more than our entire photography contract, as it instantly settled a dispute that both a neighbour and the city had raised while trying to blame the developer for some pavement and concrete cracking,” Holmes adds. “In that case we were able to verify that the damage had been done prior to any site mobilization. This very same thing has happened a number of times on custom home builds too.”
REALLY HIGH TECH
What you can’t see with the naked eye, however, is where drone-carried tech might be expanding the fastest.
“For example, thermal sensors have become more widely available for evaluating building envelope conditions, assessing insulation, leaks and in looking for water intrusion,” Holmes notes. “They’ve even been used successfully to find water leaks from underground piping. I expect this technology to play a significant role as more governments push towards regulations and codes to achieve net-zero buildings.”
Volatus, which works with a combination of mid-rise and high-rise condo builders, as well as subdevelopments, is as cutting-edge a company as there is in this realm, from detecting gas leaks to using advanced photogrammetry software to generate geo-referenced, high-res textured reality meshes for projects at any scale.
And then there’s LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), the most efficient and arguably the most accurate technology used for spatial data collection. Using laser pulses to generate returns from millions of points, LiDAR sensors create detailed 3D models of ground, vegetation and infrastructural conditions.
“We get a lot of traction generating 3D models for heritage applications, where companies are looking to do all the restoration work or generate a BIM (Building Information Modelling) model of an existing structure before they go in and do refabrications or additions,” Reford says. “If they’re building a condo podium on top of the old facade, for example, we can generate really high-quality resolution 3D models that feed nicely into the existing BIM software.
“LiDAR shines as a method of data collection and generating really accurate topographical surveys for subdevelopments and converting greenfield or brownfield sites into housing areas,” Reford adds. “We can fly LiDAR over an entire site and classify tree canopy layers for environmental impact purposes. We generate topography for cut-fill volume assessments and grading considerations. And when you get into the built form, that’s where photogrammetry comes into play. We can either generate point-cloud models (a 3D model based upon a set of data points in space) or textured mesh models that are really refined. In the colourized models, you’re able to capture really finite details and generate a visually compelling result.”
Volatus recently employed its photogrammetry and LiDAR to search for Dutch Elm disease in Winnipeg. Reford would like to see developers use the technology more often to avoid environmental damage of another sort.
“There are many instances where an unfinished subdevelopment has been completely flooded out, and you’re left there scratching your head, wondering, ‘Why was it even built here in the first place? And if so, why weren’t the proper pieces of infrastructure installed to mitigate the flood risk?’’’ Reford says. “Frankly it’s often just because of the lack of understanding of the overall site conditions. And that’s where LiDAR comes into play—to really drill down and extract very, very accurate data in terms of what the site conditions actually are.
“There are constraints to any technology, and photogrammetry and LiDAR are no different,” Reford admits. “For example, both struggle with reflective surfaces, whether it’s windows or water. Generally speaking, those end up showing as voids in the model. So you have to account for how to mitigate for those deficiencies in your data collection.”
DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME
It’s one of the reasons why Reford and others caution against residential construction industry folks attempting to do drone work in-house or contract unproven drone companies. Even navigating the necessary certifications and training is somewhat of an obstacle course for builders.
“The first justifications for using our services is to avoid the significant expense of purchasing and maintaining up-to-date unmanned aircraft systems, along with all the fees that go along with them for the required aviation insurance, software for flight apps, processing, data management and data sharing,” Multivista’s Holmes says. “The second reason is the need to have trained remote pilots on staff that are both qualified to capture relevant data safely and legally. And merely being certified with your Transport Canada Advanced Remote Pilot Certificate doesn’t mean you are qualified as an operator, especially in the complex environments we are presented with in construction.
Also, most operations in construction require both a remote pilot and a trained visual observer (VO) to operate legally as well as safely—both in the air and on the ground.
“We speak to a lot of people in construction contracting, and developing and engineering spaces who have drones in-house and are using them actively, but do not have the proper certifications or insurance coverage,” echoes Reford. “Those are two important caveats.”
Using expert operators results in better data, Reford says. “We are able to fly in complex operating environments due to the fact that we’ve built a program in a manner that emulates an airline—following rigid safety compliance metrics and pilot checklists, etc. That translates into consistent, high-quality data. Because if you have garbage data coming into your pipeline, the resulting deliverables are going to be useless for the client.”
As attractive deliverables go, however, First Class Drones holds the edge when it comes to pure aesthetics. The company is looking to occupy the traditionally quiet winter months with the burgeoning DVS (Drone Video Systems) category, whereby they would help train and equip clients with drone solutions that are customized to their needs.
But First Class’s specialty is a throwback to the marketing advantages early drones provided—unique, jaw-dropping imagery.
“We’re the highest priced for what we do, but also the highest quality,” says Herschorn. “A lot of people call themselves drone videographers. We’re drone cinematographers. We have a different eye. We’re trying to move into TV, bringing extreme cinematic footage to the real estate world that has never been seen before.
“Drone footage is becoming the norm,” Herschorn says. “For it not to be the norm, you have to be different—to provide footage that makes people go, ‘Holy cow!’”
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