Drones and Construction
Twenty years ago, it was rare for construction companies to use drones. Instead, larger businesses would send a helicopter to capture aerial views of a jobsite. As drone technology improved and became more accessible, the FAA created The Part 107 program to license commercial drone pilots and designate where commercial drones may fly. The FAA also launched a program in 2017 that lets commercial drone pilots get airspace clearance with the FAA in less than a minute, cutting down on the 90-day wait time prior to this program—helpful, considering that about one-quarter of all buildings are located within restricted airspace.
Drones have helped make construction sites safer, more profitable, and provided for increased productivity. Drones are a safe way to get a birds-eye view of a construction site (and cheaper than a helicopter!). Drones can monitor stockpiles and multiple sites at once. Drones outfitted with thermal sensors gather data that the human eye cannot see. The predicted advances for drones in construction include advanced sensors and improved analytics.
Summarized from the “How Drones Have Changed Construction & What’s Next” article from Construction Business Owner.