Why Use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)?
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) provide efficient, cost-effective and accurate means to get the data you need.
Traditional surveying methods consist of either terrestrial or using a full-sized aircraft. Neither of these methods is as efficient, cost-effective or accurate as using a UAV can be.
When Robert Simmerling and Peter LeCouffe got together to found Harrier Aerial Surveys, the idea was to marry surveying with GIS to bring a new level of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and accuracy to surveying clients.
With traditional surveying techniques, you need lots of people, lots of time, and lots of equipment. And in return, you get fewer data points.
Using both fixed wing and multi-rotor UAVs, the team can collect 15,000,000 data points where traditional methods would have gathered a mere 1,500 points.
The accuracy of the photogrammetry techniques Harrier uses is within 1% of comparable datasets produced by LiDAR. LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. It is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.
UAVs are also cost-effective. The alternatives: full-sized aircraft and terrestrial surveying both require more equipment, more people, and more time to get the same job done.
Harrier, since we hold a blanket special flight operators certificate for all of British Columbia, can complete aerial surveys on short notice. This, combined with the flexibility and mobility of our UAVs means that we can survey your operation with less and do more.
We’re obsessed with giving our clients the most efficient experience possible. Robert’s decades of experience in high precision industrial metrology is driven to find the most accurate and efficient solution for clients.
Using UAVs is an option that fills a gap between the terrestrial and full-sized aircraft surveyors.
Bottom line is that using a UAV for your surveying needs gives you a flexible option that also offers high precision and is cost effective.
Why use a UAV for your next surveying project? We think it’s obvious.
We’d love to hear your experiences, though.
Have you used a UAV for your surveying project? What was the experience like? Do you use more traditional methods? What has that been like for you, and have you considered trying a UAV?