The use of drones has become standard practice in the geospatial field. Come learn from experts on the capabilities of modern UAS sensors, including calibration, advanced processing approaches, new regulations, and real-world applications.
11:00 – 11:15 AM – UAS-based Lidar: The Best Practices that Lead to Best Accuracy and Data Quality
UAS-based Lidar is becoming an indispensable tool for varieties of projects and markets sectors.  Sensor’s capabilities and productivity is moving with a faster pace that anyone anticipated. Although, the fundamental technology is the same, UAS-based Lidar has its uniqueness that differentiate it from the typical large Lidar on board a crewed aircraft. Our company serves a wide variety of clients including those who seeks highly accurate Lidar point cloud for their applications like roadway engineering, asset management and mapping. To ensure such accurate products, several scrutinies of the different phase of the mission need to be realized. Starting with the mission design, quality of the laser and the geo-referencing auxiliary systems and ending with data processing and analysis. The presentation will demo planning stages for several projects including ground control target design as after years of conducting UAS-based Lidar survey, we learned the best shape and materials for the paneling to make it most visible in the intensity image and the point cloud. When compared to different ways of panel construction that are practiced in the industry, this approach is superior to them all. The presentation will also demonstrate the positional accuracy and data quality resulted from using a variety of available UAS-based lidar sensors.
Qassim Abdullah, Woolpert
11:15 – 11:30 AM – Leveraging the latest AI, Regulations, UAS Technology for Long Distance Projects
Presentation on the groundbreaking advancements in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology, artificial intelligence, and regulatory frameworks that are revolutionizing long-distance projects. In this session, we will explore: • Technological and Legal Advancements: Discover how it is now both technologically and legally feasible to replace manned aviation with advanced drone solutions, offering a safer, more efficient alternative. • Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition: Learn how leveraging AI enables drones to autonomously navigate and acquire data, significantly enhancing operational efficiencies and reducing human error. • Extended Flight Capabilities: See the latest hybrid drones that can fly for hours, a significant improvement over the limited flight times of traditional drones, enabling broader coverage in a single mission. • FAA Approvals for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Operations: Gain insights into obtaining the necessary FAA approvals for BVLOS operations, a critical component for long-distance UAS projects. • 2024 Valmont Case Study: Be inspired by the 2024 Valmont Infrastructure Services case study, where they successfully covered 183 miles of linear utility infrastructure in a single day using state-of-the-art drones, AI technologies, and compliance with FAA regulations. Compare this to the typical coverage of 10 to 15 miles a day by standard drone crews. • Economic Analysis: Examine the economic benefits of using drones versus helicopters for large-scale projects, highlighting cost savings, efficiency improvements, and operational advantages. • This presentation will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of how the latest advancements in UAS technology and regulations can be leveraged to transform long-distance projects, offering new possibilities for efficiency and effectiveness in the industry.
Jake Lahmann, Valmont Industries
11:30 – 11:45 AM – Advanced Lidar & Drone Applications for Natural Resource and Vegetation Management
New technology is constantly evolving, making unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drone services a value-add when considering lidar applications and inspection methods used for natural resource consulting & vegetation management. This presentation will review geospatial and integrated remote sensing solutions and discuss latest developments, improvements, and system advances utilizing drone lidar technology for natural resource environmental consulting and utility vegetation management.
Ryan LaValle, Davey Resource Group Inc.
11:45 – 12:00 PM – Integrating Advanced UAV Mapping with Traditional Land Surveying
The integration of UAV data with traditional land surveying presents a significant challenge, primarily due to the differences in data collection methods and the necessity for precise deliverables. Traditional surveying techniques, while highly accurate, are often time-consuming and labor-intensive. Conversely, UAV mapping technologies like lidar and photogrammetry offer efficiency but pose challenges in data density and compatibility with existing survey methods. This issue is addressed by developing an innovative methodology that combines UAV technology with conventional survey techniques. By utilizing a shared control network that aligns with ground crews, conducting pre-survey UAV flights to gather comprehensive site data, and employing a 5-point check system encompassing photogrammetry, lidar , ground control points, check shots, and ground crew verification, exceptional data accuracy and reliability can be achieved. Furthermore, this approach includes the manual extraction of topographic points, similar to traditional field survey methods, and the creation of lightweight CAD deliverables to reduce data size and enhance compatibility. This methodology effectively addresses obscured areas by integrating UAV and ground data for complete coverage. Ultimately, SURVAIR’s methodology enhances efficiency, improves data integration, and offers practical solutions for surveyors. It resolves the challenges of merging UAV and traditional survey data, paving the way for more accurate, reliable, and efficient land surveying practices, thereby transforming the future of the industry.
Richard Butkus III, SURVAIR
12:00 – 12:15 PM – Drones and IoT Sensors: Building a Digital Twin for a Coastal Landslide Repair
This case study will demonstrate the innovative combination of high-resolution drone imagery, survey control, lidar, and near-real time inclinometer data to create a digital twin that was used to inform decision making at a critical coastal landslide repair project.  This project recently won a California State ACEC award as well as an Honor award at the National ACEC level.  We utilized drones outfitted with various sensors (e.g. photogrammetry and lidar) and tied to survey control. We then linked this information to two inclinometers that were drilled 75′ below ground to monitor the landslide movement.  Here are a few results from this project (1) We were able to get the rail network back onlin 4-6 weeks ahead of schedule (2) Due to the landslide, 4 homes were deemed uninhabitable.  We were able to get two familes back into their homes that were originally yellow tagged (3) We saved several hundreds of thousands of costs the rail would have had to spend (4) This rail line is designated as a strategic rail cooridor network by the Department of Defense and it was critical we get the rail back onlin asap. In September 2021, significant earth movement on a coastal hillside near San Clemente, California resulted in the suspension of passenger and freight rail traffic along a key railway section between Oceanside and San Clemente. Additionally, city officials red-tagged two homes in the adjacent housing development, and yellow-tagged two more. In response, 20,000 tons of riprap was deposited on the ocean side of the tracks to protect the railway and to serve as a counterweight to slow bluff movement. After Hurricane Kay in September 2022, additional landslide movement necessitated emergency approvals for a longer-term site repair project – installation of large metal anchors along the 700 feet of slope to prevent it from pushing the railroad track further toward the water. HDR provided engineering support services for the emergency project. HDR’s Data Acquisition team developed a digital twin of the project site by combining existing survey control points and high-resolution imagery captured with a WingtraOne Gen II drone outfitted with a prototype 61-megapixel camera, 42-megapixel camera and lidar sensor. Survey and flight operations were completed in a timeframe of less than two hours. In addition to achieving FAA and DOD approvals to conduct the flights, working near and within the impacted residential community required close collaboration with the neighborhood. The site’s proximity to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and a visit by President Biden to nearby San Diego on the day of the flights added additional security considerations as well. Inclinometers installed in October 2021 and November 2022 provided near-real-time data that was transmitted to the Bentley’s iTwin platform for consumption within the digital twin – one of the first full implementations for an active project using this product. This allowed the project team and owner’s personnel to log in, select a specific location within the project site and see changes in movement to a tenth of an inch at various depths within the context of the interactive model. Access to this data was actively monitored (along with configured threshold alerts) to inform key construction activities as they occurred. It also aided the decision to re-open the two yellow-tagged residences and resume regular passenger rail service along the route following completion of 60% of the anchor installation work – 3-4 weeks earlier than expected – which saved several-hundred-thousand dollars in interim passenger bus service and lost passenger rail revenue.
Carlos Femmer, HDR Engineering Inc.
12:15 – 12:30 PM Optimized In-Flight Calibration of Uncrewed Lidar/Camera Payloads
This presentation is focused on the optimization of lidar and camera in-flight calibration for uncrewed platforms. When using a lidar and a camera onboard a drone, boresight and lever arm calibration becomes a necessity once the system is installed. lidar boresight and lever arm calibration implies calculating the spatial and angular offset between the lidar frame of reference and the IMU frame of reference. Similarly, camera boresight is the orientation offset between the camera coordinate system and the IMU frame of reference. Camera interior orientation is correlated with camera boresight. Therefore, the UAV flight pattern as well as the data processing algorithm need to address that strong correlation. This presentation explains the best practice for Lidar/Camera calibration which allows for obtaining accurate calibration parameters which guarantees producing accurate mapping products. Several data sets were acquired in the United States, Canada, and Germany to particularly assess the performance of the uncrewed Lidar/Camera in-flight calibration mechanism discussed here. The results presented in this presentation prove that lidar and camera boresight calibration are necessary to be considered as part of the quality control strategy in an uncrewed Lidar/Camera data processing workflow.
Mohamed Mostafa, Trimble Applanix
