Drones in Construction: Beyond Pictures…

Capturing and Exploring Actionable Data

Hunter Cole & Jesse Creech
Virtual Design + Construction
Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractors

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 Class summary

Understand how the use of drones to generate

models is impacting construction and BIM
workflows, and what is necessary to get started
at your organization.

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 Key learning objectives

At the end of this class, you will be able to:

 Help their organization develop a compliant strategy to begin
operating drones commercially
 Become familiar with the various outputs possible via drones
beyond aerial photography
 Plan a safe and automated flight mission resulting in an accurate
3D map & model
 Incorporate 3D drone data into existing BIM workflows and
software to enhance construction

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 About Virtual Design + Construction
at Brasfield & Gorrie

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© 2016 Autodesk
© 2016 Autodesk
 Virtual Design + Construction
BIM  Building Information Modeling

Our Process
 Marketing
 Preconstruction
 Scheduling
 Safety
 Field Ops & Construction

Our Technology
 3D Modeling
 Virtual Reality
 Laser Scanning
 4D Scheduling
 Unmanned Aircraft Systems
 `
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 Virtual Design + Construction
Virtual Environment  Physical Jobsite
 Generate engaging marketing content
 Estimate quantities quickly
 Find design problems virtually early
 Place items in field with greater
accuracy
 Deeper insight into assets of building

The 3D model of the jobsite becomes a

valuable source for information during
construction

Drones help bring the physical jobsite to

the virtual jobsite

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 Intro to UAS & Photogrammetry

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 UAS  Unmanned Aircraft Systems
​Not just a children’s toy – but a serious
tool, with real value for construction.

 Brasfield & Gorrie is seeing an

increased demand for UAS services
from our project teams

 Over the next 3 years, the UAS industry

is estimated to create 70,000 jobs and
create a $13.6B economic impact ($80B
by 2025).

 ​ s of late December, B&G is officially

A
licensed for commercial use of drones
by the FAA

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 How do UAS add value to B&G projects?
​Instant R-O-I
 Aerial progress images & video
 Time-lapse videos
 Quick site familiarization
 Inspection of hazardous areas

Deeper project insight

 Capture 3D model of site
 Take measurements
 Daily monitoring of progress
 Generate topographical drawings
 Estimate earthwork quantities
 Quality Control inspection

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 Intro to Photogrammetry
How does it work?
 Stitches together overlapping geo-tagged
still images into a 3D point cloud
 Algorithms register the points based on
known variables from the image sensor,
drone position & altitude
What does the drone do?
 Drone flies autonomously over jobsite
capturing hundreds of geo-tagged images
 Modern software automates this flight
operation
What are the outputs?
 Stitched ortho-mosaic images, digital
surface models, 3D point clouds and
meshes

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 B&G’s History with UAS Operations

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 First B&G UAS Flight

 April 24, 2014

 Birmingham, AL
 1 million sq ft

Brasfield & Gorrie

Auburn University

Leica Geosystems

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 Exterior Facade Inspection
 Generated hundreds of high-res
images of mullions and panes

 Linked photos to BIM model for

location access

Excellent proof of concept for value of

UAS to construction…

 However, newly released FAA

regulations temporarily grounded
any further jobsite use

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 Testing and Challenges
It wasn’t as easy as it looked
 Lacked a pilot
 Lacked a secure area to practice flying

Creating 3D models was difficult

 Getting proper photos and overlap is

critical, and requires great precision
 Needed serious computers and
software
 Needed an easier way to share data
throughout company
 Wished for an autonomous solution
 Kespry, DroneDeploy, SkyCatch, Pix4D?

Needed to remove the high-skill barriers

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 Regulatory Overview and
B&G’s Path to Compliant Operation

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 B&G’s Path to Compliant Operations
N215BG

FAA Filed for Executive Developed First initial Received Conducted

released FAA Section team issued internal draft of 333 1st Flight on
comprehens 333 company- safety internal Exemption B&G Jobsite
-ive UAS Exemption wide C&D standards policy for &
guidelines for UAS use UAS use Registered
UAS
Feb. 2015 Jul. 2015 Sept. 2015 Oct. 2015 Oct. 2015 Dec. 2016 Jan. 2016

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 How can we operate commercially today?
Navigating the FAA regulations regarding
what we can and cant do is still very
complex…

 Sites may be more difficult to fly if

near an airport, not impossible. (5nm
radius)

 ALL commercial operations require a

licensed pilot for any drone operation

 New FAA rules were put in place in late

August and allow more flexible
operations

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 Regulatory Overview
What is a commercial use of UAS?
 Selling photos or videos taken from a UAS
 Provide contract services, such as industrial
equipment or factory inspection
 Provide professional services, such as
security or telecommunications
 Monitor the progress of work your company
is performing
What are some examples of commercial uses
of UAS?
 Professional real estate or wedding
photography
 Professional cinema photography for a film
or television production
 Providing contract services for mapping or
land surveys

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 What requirements do I need to meet to fly commercially?
Remote Pilot requirements:
 Must be at least 16 years of age
 Must hold a remote pilot airman certificate with a small
UAS rating or be under the direct supervision of
someone holding a remote pilot airman certificate
 Must pass the applicable Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) vetting
UAS requirements:
 Must weigh less than 55 lbs.*
 Must undergo pre-flight check by remote pilot in
command (a.k.a. you or the person supervising the
operation)
Location requirements:
 Operations in Class B, C, D and E airspace are allowed
with the required Air Traffic Controller (ATC) permission
 Operations in Class G airspace are allowed without ATC
permission
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 What are the operating rules? <100mph

 Under 400 feet above ground level (AGL) Daylight

ONLY

 Must keep the UAS in sight (i.e. visual line of

sight)

 Must fly during daylight hours

<400’ AGL
 Must fly at or below 100 mph

 Must yield right of way to manned aircraft

 Must not fly over people

 Must not fly from a moving vehicle unless you

are in a sparsely populated area

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 What’s Possible Today?

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 Various Outputs from UAS Today
 Aerial images & video Time-lapse videos

 Inspection of hazardous areas

 Capturing a 3D model of the site/structure

 Take advanced measurements

 Daily monitoring of progress

 Generate topographical drawings

 Quality Control inspection

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 High-Res Aerial Progress Photos

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 High-Res (4K) Flyover Video

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 High-Res Orthomosaic Map

End Product of Flight

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 Elevation Digital Surface Model

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 Point Cloud Fly-Through

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 Point Cloud aligned to Federated Model

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 Lessons Learned
& Case Studies

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 Planning Flight Mission w/ DroneDeploy

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 Final Interactive Map Result

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 What is B&G Flying With?
Hardware recommended for industrial use:
 DJI Inspire 1
 4K Video / 12MP Photos
 360˚ Stabilized Gimbal
 ~20min flight time
 ~50mph top speed

 Zenmuse X3 Camera

 (2x) LightBridge RCs

 (6x) LiOn Batteries

 (2x) Apple iPad Tablets

 Waterproof TSA Approved Pelican Case

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 Best Practices for Mapping Missions
The more imagery, the better
 Fly at the lowest possible altitude
 Increase overlap as much as feasible
 High photo overlap can assist the software in
registering the model
 Supplement Areas of Particular Interest
with “Angled Photos”

Bring necessary amount of batteries

Field verify data before leaving site

 Check that the UAS obtained a reasonable
amount of photos

It’s not the “end-all, be-all”, UAS data has

great value in supplement to traditional
survey techniques

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 Best Practices for Flying Commercially
Always do the following as a minimum:
✓ Secure permission from project team and property owner preferably a week
in advance
✓ Verify airspace is not restricted (>5nm airport, >2nm heliport)
✓ Verify weather for desired date (clear conditions. <10mph winds)
✓ Schedule flight on day and time where minimal personnel will be present
✓ Ensure licensed pilot will be present to operate UAS with a dedicated visual
observer
✓ Ensure aircraft is registered with FAA
✓ Identify potential safety hazards (overhead utilities, vertical structures, blind
spots)
✓ Plan flight mission with all relevant data
✓ Perform hardware inspection on UAS before flying

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 Case Study: Aerial Site Survey
Assisting our field operations by using
UAS to survey active construction project
at Florida Hospital in Apopka, FL.

 Survey requested to determine

progress of site work (earthmoving).

 Traditional method would take

weeks, come with great cost, and
only yield a few hundred points of
resolution

 Opportunity to use aerial method to

get results faster with greater
resolution of data

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 Case Study: Aerial Site Survey
Aerial Survey Post Flight Workflow:

What was involved after the flight?

Registration
 Generate point cloud and contour
map with assigned elevations
Analysis
 Compared engineer’s design intent
CAD file vs actual topographic data
obtained by drone
Verification
 Checked proof of concept by spot
checking results by traditional
means, confirmed validity of output

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 Aerial Survey Outputs & Results

End Product of Flight

FLORIDA HOSPITAL | Contour Line Map FLORIDA HOSPITAL | Soils Import/Export Analysis

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 Traditional vs Aerial Surveying Timeline

Typical ground-based survey timeline

Request from project team

2 days

Survey Accepted

~1-2 weeks
Data collection & post-
processing

~1-2 weeks
Delivery of PDF, CAD File,
Contour Map

2-3 weeks

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 Traditional vs Aerial Surveying Timeline

Typical aerial survey timeline

Request from project team

1 day

Mobilize to Site

1-2 days

Fly UAS & Collect Data

1-2 days
Delivery of PDF, CAD File,
Contour Map + POINT CLOUD +
ORTHOIMAGERY

1-4 days

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 Use Case: Preconstruction
Assisting our preconstruction teams by
using measurement methods to estimate
quantities

 Able to get precision

measurements rapidly

 1hr on jobsite, data available 3

hours later

 Rooftop area to be replaced is

39,204 sq. ft. (~10 clicks)

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 Use Case: Checking Crane Clearances
Assisting our equipment operations by
using a drone model & BIM model to
confirm crane placement

 Able to adjust and manipulate

crane geometry for ideal site
configuration

 Allows B&G to check ourselves

and ensure up front, rather
than potentially finding out
the hard way

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 Use Case: Site Familiarization through VR
Assisting our field operations by using
virtual reality to assess and learn
jobsites

 Load 3D model from UAS into VR

headsets such as the HTC Vive or
Oculus Rift

 A new way to gain understanding of

our jobsites from a remote location

 Identify logistics and safety concerns

through immersive “almost actually
there” experience

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 Recap & Path Forward

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 Where are we now?
Utilized UAS on 19 B&G jobsites in 2016
 Will fly 10 additional jobsites by the
end of 2016 calendar year

 1400+ Acres Mapped as of September

2016

7 FAA Part 107 Certified Remote Pilots

 Plan to train 10 more over the next
calendar year

5 Corporately Owned UAS

 Plan to invest in 10 additional over
the next calendar year
for rapid jobsite deployment

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 How will our operations scale?
In-house performed
 HQ plans and performs the flight to ensure FAA compliance,
then will perform any necessary post-processing and deliver
the data requested.
External vendor performed
 B&G will coordinate with external vendors to ensure the
proper certifications. After initial coordination, approved
external vendors will be able to offer their services to that
specific project
Jobsite Performed
 B&G will provide resources to assist in getting project
specific personnel FAA Part 107 certified and trained on safe
use and best practices to perform drone-based inspection
and mapping on the job as needed.
 HQ will issue and manage UAS equipment to ensure
compatibility, verify hardware is listed on insurance policy,
and ensure each UAS is registered with the FAA.

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 Implementing Controls
 Issued corporate-wide memo
outlining strategy

 Developed self-study & how-to

guide for those interested in
becoming certified

 Developed standard operating

procedures for safe-flight

 Developed training program for

field personnel

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 B&G’s Path for Issuing UAS Hardware

Jobsite Would-be Equipment is Aircraft & VDC personnel Field operator

requests field-based ordered, operator are delivers conducts first
hardware and operator assembled, added to hardware and flight
training of studies/passes registered corporate conducts
operator 107 exam with FAA insurance training
policy

Equipment is NOT purchased prior to passing 107 exam and completing hands-on training

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 Maintaining Traceability

 Hardhat decal for

identifying approved
operators

 UAS decal for

approved hardware

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 What does the future hold?
New UAS Rules add greater flexibility for
commercial operations
 Pilot requirement goes away
 Formal training and knowledge test will be required
 Easier to fly sites close to airports
 Allows for more flexible operations

Next-gen UAS tech will be impressive

 Collision avoidance
 Object tracking & Machine learning
 Capturing as-built information
 Quality control

A drone on every jobsite

 B&G has 200+ active jobs, that is the finish line
 All team members will have a greatly improved level of
awareness on remote projects

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 Questions

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