DRONE MAPPING WITH DJI MAVIC 3E

What is Drone Mapping?

Drone mapping is also known as aerial mapping or photogrammetry. It’s used specifically for creating maps, 3d models, or ortho mosaic images of an area using the drone’s aerial data collection. Orthomosaic images are a particular image type where the geometric distortion has been corrected and colour balanced to produce a seamless mosaic dataset.

Drone mapping is a huge benefit, as drones are unmanned aerial vehicles and are easier to control and fly. Drones can be flown lower than manned aircraft such as helicopters. Drones also have cameras and downward-facing sensors to capture overlapping aerial images of the ground from different angles. Drone mapping software is used to measure individual points and calculate the position and orientation of your mapping to generate high-resolution 3d models with absolute accuracy.

Drone Mapping Applications

With this sophisticated technology, we can use drone mapping for a number of applications for various industries. Here are some ways you can optimize the use of drone mapping:

  • Drone Surveying: Drones quickly survey large areas to provide you with topographic surveys, aerial maps, contour maps or digital elevation models. This is used for construction, land development, or urban planning
  • Construction: Drones are a great tool to use for monitoring construction sites and tracking progress. They assist in data collection and documentation to provide accurate measurements and 3d models for infrastructure planning
  • Agriculture: Capturing thermal images that aid in monitoring irrigation and assessing the health of your crops. It provides elevation models and digital surface models.
  • Environmental: Used to map ecosystems with a digital terrain model. This is helpful for tracking wildlife, detecting changes in land cover and aiding in disaster response and conservation efforts.
  • Real Estate Marketing: A clever way to capture aerial data and images to showcase property listings and their surrounding areas from unique perspectives.

What We Used Before Drone Mapping

Before drone mapping, we used traditional methods to collect data for surveying purposes. This data collected includes ground surveying, aerial images and photography, satellite imagery, and lidar payloads.

These methods were time-consuming, expensive, and limited in the ability to capture detailed up-to-date information.

Benefits of Drone Mapping

With the introduction of drones and the recent advancements in aerial images, we are able to access unreachable areas with ground control points and data and clouds.

Drone mapping offers a cost-effective solution to collect data quickly with accurate measurements and accessibility. Raw data can frequently be collected, resulting in high-accuracy analysis and processing.

Advantages of DJI Mavic 3E Series Drones

When searching for which drone models to use for drone mapping in commercial sectors, the DJI Mavic 3E (Enterprise) series drones are the most cost-effective for drone surveying. There are three models in the series:

  1. DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise
  2. Mavic 3 Thermal
  3. Mavic 3 Multispectral variants

Drone Mapping Training

At Coastal Drone, we provide in-depth drone courses that you can access online. Our team of experienced professionals has been in the industry for decades, and you can take our courses from the comfort of your own home at your convenience.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about how our classes can help you become a certified drone pilot, contact us.