Hi All,
I'm currently studying at university to become a Cadastral Surveyor. I'm enjoying the study but I'm pretty concerned about the impact that the use of drones or UAV's is going to have on the industry. With current technology, surveying can be done by a drone down to cm or even mm accuracy, in a fraction of the time a traditional surveyor would take. 3D models can be produced and traditional surveying tasks such as traverses can be done in software, removing the need to do these tasks on site.
Here's a sample whitepaper (PDF) outlining some of the concepts behind virtual surveying:
I guess for most Surveyors the use of drones is a very new technology and it's not effecting the industry much at this stage but in the next 10 years perhaps it will be a different picture.
I'd be keen to hear some opinions from more experienced members as to what they feel the future holds for surveyors, the surveying industry and UAV's.
Thanks.
Replies
a very interesting read indeed... thank you for sharing this
great topic I'd say and at the forefront of many surveyor's minds these days. I for one will check out this whitepaper and give some feedback.. you might also like to talk with surveyors over in the Cadastral Surveyors group.. Welcome to the network!