Compared a drone map to a total station survey on the same site, the drone won by hours

I spent 3 days with a total station mapping a 2-acre Roman villa outline last month, then ran a drone over it in one afternoon and the point cloud was just as accurate for wall lines, so has anyone else switched their field workflow and never looked back?

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1 Comment

julia5492d ago

Did you grade the total station data for control points too, or just compare the final linework? I’ve seen drone shots get real close on open ground, but the second you hit heavy brush or a steep bank, the weeds and shadow mess with the point cloud enough that I still end up walking those spots with a rod. Maybe it’s just my sites, but I keep the total station for anything where I need sub-centimeter trust, like property pins or buried utilities.