drones civil engineering

37 – Drones and Civil Engineering

Can I use expensive toys and get paid for it? Yes, please.

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Civil FX Updates

  • New link for the mailing list www.civilfx.com/m
  • Not only will you get all visualization and other updates but you will also get a free PDF called “7 things you need to know about 3D Visualization in civil engineering”
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Drones in Civil Engineering
  • Let’s get the legal aspects of using drones out of the way first
  • Second is the terminology: UAV or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is the proper term but terms like drone, multirotor or quadcopter are also used as well
  • Why would you want to use a drone in civil engineering?
  • The obvious answer is site videos before, during and after construction
  • Not only can this be an important communication tool between the project and the public or other stakeholders, but this footage can also be used for coordination
Drones in 3D Visualization
  • The most exciting aspects of using UAVs in civil engineering, for me, is the potential for 3D visualization
  • There are several different ways that aerial footage could be used for 3D visualization
  • The first is to create 3D objects (buildings, terrain, infrastructure features) using photoscanning as discussed in episode 36
  • The second is to use compositing to overlay 3D models on actual footage
  • This is how Hollywood special effects are often created and saves a lot of time on modeling
  • The third reason is that I just really want to have an excuse to play with toys and call it my job đŸ˜€
Drone Gear
  • The best drone for you will depend on how much of a maker you are
  • If you want to build your own quadcoptor from scratch you can get complete kits and guides online
  • If you want something that just works out of the box you can buy those as well
  • Good quadcoptors with cameras (or capable of carrying cameras) can cost thousands
  • DJI is an exciting company with a line of high end quadcopters capable of capturing amazing footage