How drone surveys take the guesswork out of site inspections
According to the Construction Institute, the average cost of rework on industrial projects wastes US $17b annually. Drone surveys are helping to change that.
Drone photogrammetry used with Trendspek's 3D technology helps surveyors receive accurate site specs within 24 hours for more informed decision-making and maintenance planning.
A single drone flight collects tens of thousands of images which are then processed, or "stitched" together, by Trendspek's software to create an exact 3D model of the site – a Precision Reality Twin, or PRT.
What is a Precision Reality Twin, and how is it different from other digital twins?
First introduced by Trendspek in 2021, the Precision Reality Twin was designed to deliver better outcomes across various industries managing large-scale infrastructure and buildings.
Precision Reality Twins consider the intricate needs of the asset management industry, to provide 3D models that drive safety, deliver accuracy, and empower certainty. Capitalising on modern capture methods and greater processing power, those tens-of-thousands of data points (images) are transformed into the world’s most detailed asset models, accurate to the millimetre.
3D and interactive, these PRT models are hosted in secure cloud-based storage, enabling stakeholders from around the globe to collaborate in real-time, mark up, measure and annotate with comprehensive digital record-keeping of assets.
Below, we explore the use of Precision Reality Twins across various industries, from critical infrastructure to commercial real estate.
1. White Bay Power Station
This Precision Reality Twin of Sydney’s historic White Bay Power Station was captured in just a few days by CBRE, giving them the detail they needed to plan asset repairs and restoration.
"What began as a need for a traditional report and photos, led to the ability to virtually fly around to look at different aspects of the asset that we were unable to physically reach and inspect. On a site that requires such extensive conservation works, having the ability to easily inspect out of the way areas was invaluable."
2. Hobart Water Works
Commissioned by Fulcrum, the Hobart Water Works project enables critical maintenance and allows for immediate risk mitigation decisions.
"Large dams can be really dangerous if they aren’t managed well, and can consume multiple man days of rope work," says Managing Director of Fulcrum, Mike Larkin. "The Precision Reality Twins we provide are so detailed and so accurate that a client doesn’t need to engage a lot of roped contractors to undertake a detailed inspection of the asset. The model was able to show us and the client where the issues were, and they were then able to target physical inspections, if required. There’s a cost saving and a move towards much safer practices."
3. Queen Street, Brisbane
Captured in just four hours, this Precision Reality Twin for PGIM Real Estate is helping the company determine if a potential purchase will deliver the desired return.
"We're using Trendspek because of its thoroughness, accuracy and the speed it lends to the due diligence process," says Executive Director of PGIM, Andrew Neary. "Before, we’d have a team of abseilers but now, we have one drone operator and we can capture a substantial building in less than a day. Effectively, within a few days of drone capture, we can be looking at imagery of a full building."
4. Telecom infrastructure Site Planning
Safely conduct a detailed site survey of the planned location of your telco infrastructure, including difficult-to-reach rooftop or building locations, to inform the application process and installation.
Once installed, visually inspect the new telco infrastructure to ensure compliance with strict government regulations and standards.
5. Concrete Silos and Industrial Infrastructure
In the investigation of large structures that have started to deteriorate, PRT is able to minimise capture time of large structures and produce high fidelity imaging and outputs allowing Infracorr to identify and tag every visible defect and know exactly where it is.
"We need to document all visible defects and physically investigate and test to confirm the cause of the deterioration," says Managing Director of Infracorr, Ian Godson. "With very large structures that have difficult-to-reach areas, the time and cost to access and test is very high, so we commonly take representative samples from a small proportion of the structure and use that to estimate the overall repair requirement. Photographs from the ground level or drone video helped to estimate the repair quantities but still these estimates were approximate at best."
Level up your drone capture with Capture Analysis
Our latest Capture Analysis product release lets you validate data points across your whole asset and check your capture coverage, leading to improved accuracy and better 3D models without needing to make repeat site visits. Watch a demo of how it works below.
