In recent years, the use of drones has piqued the interest of many industries, including construction. While many people think of camera-enabled drones as just a cool toy to use on a sunny Saturday afternoon, the technology is proving to be a great tool for contractors, engineers, project managers, field engineers and safety managers.
How Drones Can Change Construction
Drones, sometimes referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, are typically equipped with high-resolution cameras that give people on the ground the opportunity to see the project from an entirely different perspective than the one they typically experience.
Drones can be particularly helpful in surveying the land where the proposed construction project is going to be built on. Typically, when a land survey is conducted the results of the survey are limited to what the surveyor sees on ground level. When surveyors use a drone to have a look at the land mass from above, they are able to collect more data on the land and can save the surveyor substantial amounts of time in data collection. High-end drones designed specifically for surveying are able to collect millions of data points in one flight. Trying to do this by hand could take hours of manual labor.
Examine the Construction Project
For safety reasons, it is not always a good idea to bring clients into construction zones. In this instance, drones are helpful because they can be used to give owners and developers a secure way to view how the project is progressing without putting them in a potentially dangerous situation. Drones can be used to safely maneuver around the building project for inspections, especially during the initial build. Since drones are able to hover and operate by a remote control, operators of the device can hover and zoom into areas for a deeper inspection from the shelter of firm ground.
Drones are not just about surveying land and providing a safer way of inspecting building projects.
Some people have went so far as to speculate that soon drones will be used to help in the construction of skyscrapers due to their ability to see projects from above.
When Will Drones Become the Norm?
This is a question that many people are awaiting an answer on. They are certainly helpful in a number of different construction situations. Currently, there are no Federal regulations that prohibit the use of these unmanned Aerial vehicles. Both hobbyists and commercial users are urged to follow safe practices when using these devices for business practices or for fun. Indeed, it will be interesting to see how the use of drones changes the industry of construction. Drones give humans the type of accessibility that they have never had before, so the possibilities for their practical use is virtually endless. They have already dramatically changed the way the land is surveyed, and it is safe to assume that this is just the beginning of how the use of drones will become the new norm in the construction industry. We will just have to sit back and watch!
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