For industries that work closely with the land, often altering it to accommodate human activity, sustainability can be a constant concern. Whether designing and building roadways, manufacturing timber, or managing utility lines, leaving a small ecological footprint is both difficult and necessary. 

For many industries, drone 3D mapping can be a huge help in improving sustainability. Paired with photogrammetric software, images captured by UAVs can be used to take more precise measurements, consistently monitor landscapes, and survey the land without physically stepping foot on it. 

In order to make educated decisions about sustainability, businesses and organizations need reliable data. Drones offer just that. With minimal time and effort, key players in mining, engineering, transportation, forestry, and agriculture can utilize drone 3D maps to gain valuable insights into how they can make their processes more efficient and, therefore, more sustainable. 

Want to see for yourself how our photogrammetric software helps you pull meaningful data from drone imagery? Try out Summit Evolution for yourself. 

Land Surveying and Construction: Why Drones Are an Eco-Friendly Alternative  

Construction and land development can be difficult to do in a sustainable manner. However, many engineering firms, utility companies, any other industrial organizations are seeking ways to do just that.

Many companies are choosing to more responsibly source building materials, find creative ways to employ non-renewable resources, reduce contaminant runoff, and utilize more eco-friendly equipment. 

Lean manufacturing is one concept that has revolutionized the way construction companies and other manufacturing industries complete projects. This way of thinking involves reducing waste, both in processes and materials. By identifying and addressing areas of waste, companies can both save money and increase their sustainability practices. 

Here are several ways drones are helping industrial sites and construction companies be more eco-friendly in both the planning and monitoring stages. 

Land Surveying 

Most projects begin by surveying the land. Whether mapping out a new commercial business center or conducting site reconnaissance for a mine, the purpose of land surveying and reconnaissance is to become fully acquainted with a plot land. This includes:

• Establishing property lines prior to construction
• Noting any environmental aspects (such as bodies of water or vegetation)
• Gathering precise dimensional data on the shape, elevation, and contours of the land
• Mapping out any existing infrastructure, such as utility lines or buildings 

Drones can do this more quickly and more effectively than inspections that take place on foot. For large plots of land, drones have less of an impact on the site than driving vehicles on the ground or using planes or helicopters to gather imagery from above. 

These data can be used for 3D mapping with photogrammetry, allowing companies to make detailed, data-driven maps that guide the planning phases of a project. 

Infrastructure Inspections 

Utility sites, mines, and roadways need frequent inspections. Doing these inspections often can help DOTs and businesses in these industries identify possible environmental risks, such as potential fire or flood hazards, and take note of any failed equipment. 

However, utilizing heavy machinery to do this is both time consuming and harsh on the environment, not to mention the costs and manpower required to potentially shut down roads or reach hard-to-access areas. 

Using drones allows companies to inspect sites more effectively and frequently. Additionally, if organizations have certain environmental goals, such as cutting down on waste of natural resources, drones are a precise tool for gathering these measurements and evaluating progress. 

Drones can also be used in this way to support companies that work with renewable resources. For instance, solar panels and wind turbines derive energy using the sun or wind and don’t rely on burning fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and release nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Drones offer a cost-effective, environmentally friendly method to monitor sustainable energy infrastructure. 

Nature Conservation: How Drone 3D Mapping Can Help 

Drones are also frequently used to monitor landscapes, forests, and other land masses that contain a large amount of natural vegetation and animal life. 

For example, the Nature Conservancy in Colorado frequently uses drones to aid in water and forest conservation, monitor fire damage, inspect inaccessible areas, and track bison movement. 

With photogrammetry, conservation groups can take volumetric measurements of natural bodies of water. They can identify if an infection is affecting animal or plant populations. And if any issues are found, these groups can potentially take action to reduce the spread of disease and prevent widespread death. 

Agriculture and Forestry: How Drones Reduce Waste 

Drones are playing a major role in improving sustainability for the agriculture, forestry, and timber industries. 

One way this technology helps is by allowing forestry and agriculture professionals to take inventory of crops, trees, and other vegetation. For people in the timber or forestry industries, this means being able to take drone imagery of a certain area of land and use photogrammetric software to map out the forest and take tree counts. They can further analyze these data by categorizing trees by health status, age, and other factors. 

Similarly, drones can also be used to take stockpile inventory. This allows timber companies to create more accurate estimates of how much material has been cut down and manage their profitability and sustainability goals. 

For farmers and agriculture specialists, drones can be used to create maps of crops and monitor them over time. Called precision agriculture, this is a more effective way to catch crop diseases or identify any other issues, such as malnourishment or drought. Farmers can quickly respond by removing pests, addressing water issues, or adding more fertilizer to affected areas. 

Satellites are sometimes used to map crops. And while satellites can often map larger areas, they are not as efficient as drones, cost more money, and produce images with far-lower resolution. Drones can scan in very close proximity, offering more accurate, high-resolution data. 

While completely separate from the world of 3D mapping, drones have even been able to take on some of the labor of farming. Spraying drones can evenly distribute seeds, pesticides, and other solutions on crops.  

Improve Your Sustainability Practices With Summit Evolution 

Be creating accurate 3D maps, drones are equipping many industries with the data they need to make more sustainable decisions. And while green processes are often associated with requiring more effort, time, and costs to maintain, drones can actually cut costs and increase efficiency. 

Drones are small, easy to use, and have a low impact on the environment. They are very affordable, both in up-front costs and in the long-haul. 

While drones may get most of the credit for helping create a more sustainable, tech-savvy world, let’s not forget the essential role photogrammetry plays in this process. Without the right software to harness and draw meaning from drone imagery, you’d only have a collection of aerial photos. It’s photogrammetry that takes these static images and creates advanced 3D maps that provide purposeful data. 

Summit Evolution is a photogrammetric workstation that can take stereo data and then capture 3D information. It offers a wide range of useful features, including user-friendly project management features, advanced orientation tools, and subpixel viewing functionality. It digitizes 3D vectors into the software you use most, including AutoCAD, MicroStation, ArcGIS or Global Mapper. And you can import pre-processed UAS projects for a quick setup. 

Summit Evolution can help you increase efficiency and sustainability for your business. Start your free demo today.