Whether you’re a surveyor seeking enhanced data and efficiency, a project manager aiming for better oversight and cost savings, or a drone pilot looking to identify the most lucrative applications, this session will provide you with actionable insights and real-world examples. Presentation will detail…
- Surveying applications where drones are revolutionizing data acquisition.
- Cross-industry insights that quantify the value and ROI of drone applications.
- How high-resolution deliverables inform engineering, inspection, and maintenance operations.
- Emerging value streams based on expanded use of the technology.
Learn how drones can improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance data quality, and create new opportunities within multiple fields. These presentations will also provide a practical framework for understanding and quantifying the return on investment of drone technology.
Inspecting Walters Dam: A Hybrid Data Capture and Digital Twin Approach for a Historic Structure
Situated on difficult terrain and an environmentally and culturally sensitive area in the Great Smoky Mountains, the Walters Hydroelectric Dam presented a significant challenge for survey and inspection professionals. This presentation will discuss how, in conjunction with a reservoir drawdown, a combination of drone data collection, terrestrial lidar mapping and survey were used to successfully document as-is conditions of the upstream and downstream face of this North Carolina Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It will explore lessons learned and best practices for hybrid photogrammetric imaging services and terrestrial lidar mapping, enhanced by integrating a digital twin, to accurately document as-is conditions for aging concrete dams.
Presenter: Carlos Femmer
First Responder & UAV Application in Protecting the West of Pecos Oil & Gas Industry
This presentation will advise drone pilots on the day-to-day application of protecting, preventing, and deterring criminal activity in the oil and gas industry. Attendees will understand the roles and responsibilities of UAV drone pilots in emergency response to safety of accidents or natural disasters. Specifics related to the importance of the logistics that enhance the ability to respond effectively, while reducing risk to human life, will be addressed. The presentation will also detail the deployment of drones for security and surveillance of extensive pipeline networks and other critical infrastructure, helping the detection, deterrence, and prevention of criminal activities.
Presenter: Anthony Ramon
Leveraging Drones for Mapping, Monitoring, and Facility Assessment Across 127,000+ Acres
Virginia’s state parks offer a broad canvas for implementing a drone program. The Virginia State Parks Natural Resource Manager/UAV Coordinator will showcase how he’s used drones for controlled burn overwatch, disaster response, mapping, fire effects monitoring, search and rescue, facility assessment, and invasive species and wildlife surveys. While the full value of Virginia’s drone program can be challenging to quantify, the benefits include expanded data collection, reduced costs, fostering environmental awareness, and enhanced operational safety that will be detailed in full to attendees.
Presenter: Al Cire
Innovation Showcase: How Drones Are Being Utilized to Fight Graffiti
The Maintenance and Operations Superintendent of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) often tasks crews to mitigate graffiti in hard-to-reach places. These include walls and bridge girders above very active and difficult to shut down freeways. Using cranes and other fall protection devices is challenging and expensive, which is why WSDOT devised a plan to utilize a drone to spray paint areas covered with graffiti. After proving to be viable, the application is now considered a standard maintenance practice for WSDOT, and one that others can learn from and leverage.
Presenter: Michael Gauger
