More state transportation agencies are using aerial drones, and overall commercial use of the devices is expected to continue to climb, though not as dramatically as predicted in 2017, recent reports say.
The American bridge design and construction industry has turned the corner in embracing tools such as 4D modeling, public-private partnerships and drones.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport became the first U.S. international airfield to let drones fly within its controlled airspace when Atkins and its design-team partners, 3DR and Autodesk, flew a series of seven flights during a four-hour period on the morning of Jan. 10.
The use of drones for business is a relatively new concept, and anyone contemplating operating a drone for construction needs to not only learn the rules of the sky but ask themselves some business questions before opting to buy a drone as a mainstream tool.
In Coatesville, Pa., a depressed, rust-belt town about 40 miles west of Philadelphia with a population of 13,100, the city manager and the town’s consulting engineers are using 3D reality capture to help prospective developers see a diamond in the rough.