Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 1

Drones for Virtual

Design and Construction
A Introduction to Integrating Aerial Maps
and 3D Models in VDC Workflows
Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 2

Explore this eBook

01 02 03
Introduction Aerial Maps Drones
& 3D Models & VDC
Workflows

04 05 06
Tools & Case Studies Getting
Integrations Started
 Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 3

01 Introduction: The Future is Now for Drones

in Virtual Design and Construction
By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about drones in construction, especially when it
comes to the day-to-day work of virtual design and construction teams.

Drone data is a natural fit for VDC, and it is transforming the profession. With access
to high-resolution aerial maps and 3D models, busy teams can visualize job sites in
new ways, keep pace with the many moving parts of complex projects, and seamlessly
integrate drone data into everyday workflows.

UAVs offer a streamlined way for virtual design and construction to gather
high-resolution data and put that data to work in site planning and design, site survey,
earthwork management, and BIM workflows. If you are a virtual design and construction
professional looking to bring drones to your job site, we’ve put together a primer to get
you started.

In this ebook, you will learn:

• Why aerial maps and 3D models are transforming VDC

• Five workflows that are a good fit for drone data
• Favorite tools and integrations used by VDC teams
• How two major construction companies are putting drones to work today 

Increase Efficiency Improve Safety Drive Productivity

“
Believe the hype you are hearing about drones.
Drones are going to change the construction
industry—it’s already happening.
Grant Hagen, Virtual Design and Construction Manager
 Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 4

02
Why Aerial maps and 3D Models are
Transforming VDC

DroneDeploy captured this 3D point cloud of a commercial job site in minutes

As a virtual design and construction manager, you are a leader who helps drive innovation
at your company. But gathering the high-quality, timely data you need to do your job is
often a challenge.

Traditional data collection > Expensive. Slow. Low-resolution.

For many VDC workflows, traditional data collection just doesn’t cut it anymore. Ground
surveys are expensive and can take days, if not weeks, to mobilize. Aerial photography and
satellite imagery doesn’t provide the high level of detail that you need for your specialized
workflows.

Fortunately, drones offer an a powerful solution.

Aerial maps and models > Low cost. Fast turnaround. High impact.

Data in Hours, Not Weeks. With drone maps and 3D models, you have access to the most
up-to-date site information in a fraction of the time and cost. Where ground survey takes
hours.
Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 5

Real-time Data. And, because gathering drone data isn’t a heavy burden on manpower or
resources, most construction companies find it easy to collect new data at least weekly.
This gives you access to the most relevant information at every stage of a project, not just
at a few select intervals.

High Resolution and High Impact. High-resolution 3D point clouds generated with
drones yield millions of data points, giving you a rich set of information that can be
seamlessly integrated into the software you use every day.

“
Drone maps give my team a bird’s eye view of
the site, which looks a lot different than being
on the ground. It gives them a full picture.
Matthew Forster, Project Engineer for Choate Construction
 Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 6

03 Five Workflows for VDC and Drones

So how, exactly, are virtual design and construction teams using drone data? Here are
five everyday workflows that can be streamlined and enhanced with aerial maps and 3D
models.

Site Surveys

In a fraction of the time it takes to complete a ground-based survey, a drone can fly
and capture imagery of a project site. By using ground control points, you can achieve
centimeter-level accuracy with your drone map. Export the map into AutoCAD software
to create contour maps in days, not weeks.

Ground-based survey Drone-based survey

Accept Survey (1-2 days) Mobilize to site (1days)
Fly Drone & Collect Data (1-2 days)

Delivery of PDF, CAD File,

Ortho Map, Contour Map,
Point Cloud (1-2 days)

Total Time
Data Collection & 1-4 days
Post-processing
(1-2 weeks)

Delivery of PDF, CAD File,

Contour Map (1-2 weeks)

Total Time
2-3 weeks

“
When you’re looking at a dramatic 75% or
greater cost and time improvement by using
drones instead of a ground survey—it’s
really powerful.
Hunter Cole, Virtual Design and Construction Coordinator
Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 7

Integration with BIM Software

Drone-generated 3D point clouds can be easily imported into building information

modeling software.

Overlaying the point cloud with 3D site plan models allows you and your team to compare
real-time site conditions against plans.

“
Obtaining a point cloud of the entire site in a
few hours using a drone is a huge benefit to the
schedule and the budget.
Jesse Creech, VDC Coordinator at Brasfield & Gorrie

Site Planning and Design

Drone data gives you the most accurate information about actual site conditions, which
can be leveraged at all phases of a project.

Overlay design documents with a 3D point cloud of actual site conditions to optimize
details like crane placement, equipment clearances, and concrete pour framing.
Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 8

Tracking Site Progress

Many construction projects capture site data with a drone each week, making it easy to
measure and compare changes over time.

Overlay existing design models on top of point clouds to verify placement of concrete
footings and pipes, assure builders are following plans, and track project completion to
remain on schedule.

Monitoring Earthwork

Use drone-generated elevation data to monitor site grade on earthwork. Save time
compared to on-the-ground data collection without sacrificing accuracy.
 Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 9

04 Common Tools and Integrations

The DroneDeploy App Market

The DroneDeploy App Market features more than 75 industry tools and integrations to
further streamline your workflows. Here’s an overview of the most popular apps for use
in virtual design and construction.

The Autodesk App:

Securely sync drone data and maps directly from DroneDeploy to your
Autodesk Forge account storage.

The Procore App:

Easily export DroneDeploy maps (Orthomosaic or Elevation) into your
Procore project album.

ArcGIS Online Web Tile Layer:

Generate template links for your maps that you can use as web tile layers in
ArcGIS Online.

Quick Map Overlays:

Easily overlay roads, terrain info, waterways, buildings, US PLSS TRS data,
and more on your maps to enhance location awareness and add an extra
layer of data

Digital Terrain Model:

Generates a number of DTMs as contour shape files (.SHP) and AutoCAD file
(.DXF). You can receive data projected in any EPSG code.

EXPLORE THE APP MARKET

Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 10

Live Map: Real-time Drone Maps for the Job Site

Live Map turns hundreds of acres into consumable maps without the need to go back to
the office. Get accurate aerial views of your job site faster than ever before.

Monitor the progress of your job site by keeping track of earthwork, equipment,
subcontractors, and structures in real time.

“
Live Map helps me end each day with confi-
dence knowing where a project stands and what
our subcontractors have completed so that we
can provide the best product for our clients.
Ryan Moret, Field Solutions Manager at McCarthy Building Companies
 Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 11

05 Case Studies
Drones are transforming virtual design and construction by saving money and manpower,
and enhancing workflows. But don’t just take our word for it. Here are two examples of
how the VDC teams at major construction companies used drone maps and 3D models.

Brasfield & Gorrie Verifies Earthwork on 61-acre Hospital Site

At the request of field operations, the VDC team at Brasfield & Gorrie used drones to
verify initial earthwork done by a subcontractor at a 61-acre hospital site. If the field team
had used the robotic total station to shoot a grid of elevation points instead, it would have
required over 1,000 individual shots with multiple setups.

The VDC team took drone-generated elevation data and overlaid it with site plans for
comparison.

The final output was a heat map showing the external contractor’s earthwork progress
according to plan. Green indicates areas where actual elevations matched the design
plans. Areas in blue are low, while areas in red are high. Read the full case study here.

“
With a relatively small investment in time and money
we were able to verify field conditions and complete
an analysis that would have otherwise taken much
longer and been much more expensive. We received
a very high ROI in this instance.
Jesse Creech, VDC Coordinator at Brasfield & Gorrie
Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 12

Drone-generated Elevation Data Helps Troubleshoot

Drainage Issues

When drainage issues emerged during construction of a baseball field at a recreation

facility, Key Construction used drone-generated elevation data to solve the problem.

The in-house drone team flew the field with ground control points, then exported the
elevation data into Autodesk Revit, where they measured the elevation differences
between various points on the field. Overlaying the drone data with the AutoCAD files of
the original site plans, it was easy to see what was causing the drainage issues and how to
fix them. Read the full case study here.

“
Signing on to DroneDeploy’s enterprise solution was
a huge step in expanding our in-house drone program.
Now we can easily get this information out to our
guys, and they have access to measurements, annota-
tions, and everything that makes the platform useful.
Steven Wells, General Manager at Key Construction
 Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 13

06 Next Steps: Getting Started with Drones

in Construction
Get Started with DroneDeploy

Ready to give DroneDeploy a try? Sign up to start a 30-day free trial of our software and
begin putting drone maps to work in your company.

Talk with a Drone Mapping Expert

Still have questions? We are happy to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate in reaching out
to us with any questions. We’ll connect you with one of our drone mapping experts to get
you the information you need to get started with drones.

Where to Learn More

Interested in bringing drones to your job site? Read our guide to starting a drone program.

Our construction webinar series, in conjunction with leading drone manufacturer DJI,
gives great tips and tools to help your company get started with drones.

For a one-stop-shop guide to help you through the steps to becoming a successful
construction user of DroneDeploy, turn to our Construction Onboarding support
documents.

Curious about the future of drones in construction? Read our predictions for what’s to
come here.
Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 14

Areas Mapped with DroneDeploy

7 Continents 160 Countries 25 Million Acres

About DroneDeploy

DroneDeploy is the leading cloud software platform for commercial drones, and is making the power of
aerial data accessible and productive for everyone.

Trusted by leading brands globally, DroneDeploy is transforming the way businesses leverage drones and
aerial data across industries, including agriculture, construction, mining, inspection and surveying. Simple
by design, DroneDeploy enables professional-grade imagery and analysis, 3D modeling and more from any
drone on any device.

DroneDeploy is located in the heart of San Francisco.

To learn more visit us online and join the conversation on Twitter.

DroneDeploy www.dronedeploy.com @DroneDeploy

Drones for Virtual Design and Construction 15

Copyright 2018 DroneDeploy