A Drone Platform for Innovation in the Construction Industry

In a previous post, we explained that construction companies choose platforms like Meissa for DX (Digital Transformation). Meissa offers a platform service that integrates every procedure required to use drones. To use drones on a construction site, you need to fly the drone to capture the desired site, analyze the captured images with an engine to build a 3D model, and then leverage the resulting 3D model through the platform's various features.

‍Let's take a closer look at how the Meissa platform delivers the process of turning offline construction sites into online data.

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Meissa's Drone Operation Process

· Data Collection

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Data collection uses 'Meissa Flight.' With Meissa Flight, you can easily capture drone footage and collect data without specialized skills. With just a few clicks, the drone flies autonomously along an optimized flight path, completes its shoot, and returns. In about 15 minutes, you can obtain site information for roughly one apartment housing complex. If this is not the first shoot of the same site, you can fly the drone flexibly over the changing construction site by referring to the highest point of the 3D model previously acquired on the Meissa platform.

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· Image Analysis

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Image analysis is carried out through the 'Meissa Engine.' The images collected during the drone's flight are processed by photogrammetry software, and the overlapping images are analyzed and extracted as spatial data. In this process, a detailed representation of the terrain and objects within the area is generated. The results obtained from engine analysis include orthophotos, DEMs (Digital Elevation Models), and 3D models. These are mainly used for road construction, building construction, and complex development projects.

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· Utilizing the Results

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Results such as orthophotos, DEMs (Digital Elevation Models), and 3D models can be leveraged through the 'Meissa Platform.'

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• 2D Orthophoto : An orthophoto is a high-resolution, georeferenced aerial photograph that provides an accurate representation of the surveyed area. Because it is free of the geometric and tilt distortions found in standard aerial photos, it is used for imagery and press materials. Changes at the work site can also be easily compared and contrasted.

• DEM (Digital Elevation Model) : A DEM is a model created by measuring the elevation of the terrain (the height of a point relative to mean sea level) at regular intervals. By making spatial information such as aerial or satellite imagery three-dimensional, it is used as data across various fields including agriculture and forestry, the environment, forests, and national defense.

• 3D Model : This feature lets you view the work site within the platform as closely as possible to reality. It provides both point clouds and 3D meshes. By offering a three-dimensional representation of the surveyed area, it enables detailed analysis and visualization, and lets you check blind spots that could not be seen in 2D orthophotos. With the map tools, you can use features such as automatic earthwork volume calculation, which is essential for earthwork operations.

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On construction sites, drone platforms are used mainly to intuitively assess construction progress and detect errors. With drone mapping, even areas that are difficult or dangerous for people to monitor can be managed easily, which is effective for reducing on-site monitoring time and managing worker safety.

‍At civil engineering sites, drone platforms are used to reduce time and cost burdens. Drone surveying requires significantly less time and labor than manual surveying by people. It enables accurate cut-and-fill volume calculations in a short time without disrupting existing workflows.  

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