How to optimize ground control point placement for drone surveying


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Engineer surveyor working with drone at construction site
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What does it take to create highly accurate 3-D models of large, challenging worksites like civil construction projects, mines, or even landfills? With drone surveying, it’s easy and affordable to gain access to photorealistic digital models of your current jobsite. To do this, you need the right drone and ground control points for drones—set in the right place—to verify data collected in flight.

In addition to a drone and ground control points, you need the right processing platform to transform your data into 3-D site surveys that help you manage material movement, productivity, and cost at your jobsite. That’s where the Propeller Aero processing solution comes in. Here’s how ground control points and the Propeller Platform come together to create reliable surveys with incredible 1/10th of a foot accuracy.

Ground control points explained

Ground control points are one of the most important elements in drone surveying. In simplest terms, they’re points on the ground with known coordinates, and a surveyor uses them to accurately map large areas by drone. With their exceptional accuracy, ground control points reduce the margin of error for surveys from a scale of meters to centimeters.

Propeller’s AeroPoints are smart ground control points that you can place around your site to verify geospatial data attached to the images collected by drone. Understanding what ground control points are is one thing but understanding where to place them is another. Read on to learn the basics about ground control placement.

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Ground control placement basics

Proper ground control placement helps survey teams achieve the best possible accuracy from their efforts. You’ll need to cover the entire surveyed area, taking into account high and low elevations and the overall size of the area itself. As you plan your ground control placement, make sure to check for any line-of-sight obstructions. Make sure your ground control points are set in clear view of the sky away from trees, fences, or other obstacles.

How do you achieve optimal ground control placement across an entire survey area? You need to make sure you cover the whole site, rather than what you may think are the most important parts of the site. Use your ground control points to create a shape bounding your entire site, then place more points throughout the middle of the area as equitably as possible and place points at the lowest and highest elevations.

Do you need extra AeroPoints?

Have a challenging spot on your site? If you’re concerned about the accuracy of your surveys, it’s natural to think you need to put more AeroPoints in these spots. The truth is, more AeroPoints does not lead to increased accuracy. In fact, it can corrupt the accuracy of the whole survey. Distribute AeroPoints equally over your site, covering all boundaries and high and low elevations, to get the highest level of accuracy from your surveying efforts.

Additional ground control tips

AeroPoints work well in a variety of situations depending on which workflow suits you best. Some tips for using these smart ground control points include:

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Fully automate your processing: The best way to use AeroPoints is with the Propeller Correction Network, an extensive network that allows for fully automated processing. By automating data processing, you enjoy shorter turnaround times and greater efficiency.

  • Use an AeroPoint as a base station: When you place an AeroPoint at a benchmark location or known survey mark, you create a known reference point for other AeroPoints. Remember that the first AeroPoint you place must be on the known mark.
  • Use an AeroPoint as a makeshift base station: If you don’t have a known mark on your survey area, it reduces the global accuracy of your data. Luckily, you can still use AeroPoints to achieve greater accuracy over time. To use an AeroPoint as a makeshift base station, find a recognizable feature of your site that won’t move, and use that spot to create your own “known mark.” Place your AeroPoint on this mark and allow for at least two hours of logging time to calculate this estimated point, accurate to 50 centimeters.
  • Use the local grid: Working on a site that has a local grid? You can set it up easily in Propeller using site calibration data. Once that’s done, process AeroPoints using the local site survey benchmark correction method to determine coordinates.

Propeller makes ground control easy

When surveying any site by drone, you need at least one ground control point to correct location data collected by drone. Proper placement of ground control points is crucial—without it, you can’t achieve that 1/10th of a foot accuracy that’s become standard in drone surveys. When you rely on Propeller’s streamlined workflow, you only need to worry about placing one single AeroPoint on the ground to verify data, making the entire surveying process faster, more accurate, and more reliable.

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Abhay Singh

Abhay Singh is a seasoned digital marketing expert with over 7 years of experience in crafting effective marketing strategies and executing successful campaigns. He excels in SEO, social media, and PPC advertising.