Mapping & survey

Drone mapping without the subscription

We fly the site, process the data in-house and hand you standard files that open in the software you already use. No seat licence, no lock-in, and a browser viewer on the way.

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The model

A full alternative to renting a mapping platform

Most teams that want drone maps end up with two choices. Buy a drone, a processing licence and a cloud subscription, then train someone in-house to fly, process and quality-check. Or hire a pilot who sends a link to a hosted viewer that stops working when the subscription ends. Both leave you paying every month for access to data about your own site.

DroneLink works differently. We plan the flight, fly it with Transport Canada certified pilots, process the imagery and LiDAR in-house, check it, and deliver the results as standard files you own: GeoTIFF orthomosaics, elevation models, LAS or LAZ point clouds, OBJ meshes, DXF contours and PDF reports. They open in AutoCAD and Civil 3D, ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth and most civil design packages. Nothing expires. If you change consultants next year, the files go with the project.

Every flight and every deliverable sits in one DroneLink project record for that site, so the survey from March and the one from June are side by side, labelled, and shared by link instead of a file-sharing folder that half the team cannot find. The interactive site map viewer, with distance, area and elevation measurements, volumes and cut/fill calculated in the browser, and flight-to-flight comparison, is coming. Until it launches, the same numbers arrive as reports and files.

A full alternative to renting a mapping platform: Illustration

What we deliver

Mapping products and the files they come in

Product	What it is	Typical file	Who uses it
Orthomosaic	A single, scale-correct aerial image stitched from hundreds of photos	GeoTIFF, JPG with world file, KMZ	Everyone: site plans, planning, marketing, record
Digital surface model (DSM)	Elevation of everything the camera sees: roofs, trees, piles, equipment	GeoTIFF (elevation)	Engineers, volume work, drainage checks
Digital terrain model (DTM)	Bare-earth elevation with vegetation and structures filtered out	GeoTIFF, LandXML surface	Civil designers, grading, earthworks
Contours	Lines of equal elevation at a chosen interval	DXF, DWG, SHP	Architects, engineers, municipal submissions
Point cloud	Millions of measured 3D points, from photogrammetry or LiDAR	LAS, LAZ	Surveyors, engineers, BIM and as-built teams
3D mesh	A textured model of the site or building	OBJ, FBX	Architects, visualization, stakeholders
Volume and cut/fill reports	Quantities between surfaces, with method stated	PDF, CSV	Builders, quarries, owners, lenders

What goes wrong

Why drone mapping disappoints, and how to avoid it

The map looks great and measures wrong

Without ground control or a corrected GNSS position, a model can be internally consistent but sit a metre or more away from where it belongs, or tilt slightly. Nobody notices until it is overlaid on the design.

How we handle itWe state the accuracy target before flying, use RTK or PPK plus ground control and checkpoints where the job needs it, and report the checkpoint results. →

Wrong coordinate system or vertical datum

The engineer works in one projection and height datum, the pilot delivers in another. Everything is out by a consistent offset and someone loses a day finding out why.

How we handle itWe confirm the horizontal system, vertical datum and geoid model with your surveyor or engineer at scoping and write them on every deliverable. →

Data trapped in someone else's viewer

A hosted map is handy until the account lapses, the pilot moves on, or your consultant cannot import it.

How we handle itStandard files, delivered by link from your project record, today. The browser viewer is coming and will read the same files. →

Flights that cannot be compared

Different altitude, overlap, control and processing each month make progress and volume comparisons unreliable.

How we handle itWe save the flight plan and control layout for the site and repeat them, so month six is flown like month one. →

Unclear scope

'Can you drone the site' means an orthophoto to one person and a certified topographic survey to another.

How we handle itEvery estimate lists products, resolution, accuracy target, datum, file formats and who signs what. →

Where it fits

Jobs drone mapping does well

Pre-design site capture for architects and developers: an orthomosaic, contours and a mesh of the lot and its neighbours before the first sketch. See land development.
Stockpile and inventory volumes for yards, quarries and sites, measured without walking the piles. See stockpile volumes.
Earthworks quantities against design surfaces, for progress claims and final reconciliation. See cut and fill.
Construction progress on a fixed schedule, with the same views every visit for owners, lenders and trades.
As-built records of site works, utilities before backfill and finished grades.
Vegetated or complex terrain where LiDAR sees the ground between trees and photogrammetry cannot.
Context for visualization: our sister studio, BDM3d Studios, uses aerial capture to place renderings into their real surroundings. See https://www.bdm3d.com.

How a mapping job runs

From request to files in your hands

Scope

You tell us the site, the purpose and who will use the data. We agree the products, the resolution, the accuracy target, the coordinate system and whether a licensed surveyor needs to be involved.

Airspace and site check

We check the airspace class, nearby aerodromes and heliports, people and roads near the site, and any authorization needed under Transport Canada or FAA rules. You confirm access, contacts and hazards.

Control

Where accuracy matters, ground control points and checkpoints are set and surveyed, either by us or by your surveyor, in the agreed system.

Flight

Automated grid or corridor flights at a planned height and overlap, plus oblique passes around structures when a mesh or facade detail is needed.

Processing and checking

In-house processing to the agreed products, then a check against checkpoints and a visual review for gaps, blur, water and moving objects.

Delivery

Files and a short report of method, datum and accuracy, delivered by link to the site's project record. You approve, comment or ask for changes in one place.

From request to files in your hands: Illustration

The people around the job

One site, many readers of the same map

Surveyor

They need from you: Raw data, control reports and the datum, so they can check and, where required, take responsibility for the result.
You need from them: Control coordinates or a site benchmark, and a clear line on what they will certify.
On the DroneLink record: Control files and accuracy reports sit in the project record beside the products they tested.

Civil engineer

They need from you: A bare-earth surface in their system, at a resolution their design can use.
You need from them: The design surface for comparison and the tolerances that matter.
On the DroneLink record: Surfaces go out as LandXML or GeoTIFF; design files come back into the same record.

Architect

They need from you: Contours, an orthophoto and neighbouring building heights for massing and shadow studies.
You need from them: The CAD units and the base drawing they will overlay on.
On the DroneLink record: DXF and OBJ deliverables in one link, versioned, with comments pinned where questions arise.

Builder or site superintendent

They need from you: Quick answers: how much is left to haul, is the pad at grade.
You need from them: Safe flight windows, site contacts and notice of crane lifts.
On the DroneLink record: Recurring flights booked on the project, with each visit's files added to the same timeline.

Owner, lender or municipality

They need from you: Evidence: dated imagery and quantities they can trust.
You need from them: Their reporting format and dates.
On the DroneLink record: Reports shared by link from the project record, so everyone reads the same version.

Where we fly

Vancouver Island today, a vetted network beyond

On Vancouver Island, DroneLink flights are flown by Elite Drone Solutions of Victoria, a Transport Canada certified operator with Advanced Operations certified pilots. Outside the island, we take the order, and assign it to a vetted local operator in our network. That network is being built: tell us where the site is, and we confirm a certified local operator before you commit.

Processing and quality checks stay in-house wherever the flight happens, so a site in Alberta or Ontario gets the same products, file naming and reports as a site in Victoria. For sites in the United States, flights follow FAA Part 107 and the pilot's airspace authorizations. Read more on drone rules in Canada and on how drone mapping works.

Vancouver Island today, a vetted network beyond: Illustration

Questions

What is drone mapping used for?

Drone mapping turns overlapping aerial photos or LiDAR scans into measurable products: orthomosaics, elevation models, contours, point clouds and 3D meshes. Builders, developers, engineers, quarries and municipalities use them for site planning, volumes, progress records and as-builts.

Do I need a mapping software subscription to use your data?

No. We deliver standard files such as GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ, OBJ, DXF and PDF that open in CAD, GIS and civil design software you likely already have. Our browser viewer for measuring and comparing flights is coming, and it is not required to use the files.

How accurate is drone mapping?

It depends on the method. As general industry knowledge, work with RTK or PPK positioning plus ground control and checkpoints typically reaches a few centimetres, while uncontrolled maps can be off by decimetres to metres. We agree an accuracy target up front and report checkpoint results rather than promising a number.

Is a drone map a legal survey?

No. Property boundaries in British Columbia must be established by a BC Land Surveyor, and each province and US state has its own licensed surveyors. A drone map can support a surveyor's work, and some jobs need a licensed surveyor to sign the result.

How big an area can a drone map in a day?

It varies with the resolution you need, terrain, airspace, weather and whether LiDAR or photos are used. Small building lots take well under an hour of flying; large sites may take several flights. We estimate flight time at scoping.

What does drone mapping cost?

Cost is driven by site size, resolution, accuracy target and control, whether LiDAR is needed, travel, airspace approvals and the products you want. We quote each job after scoping and do not publish prices.

Can you map sites outside Vancouver Island?

Yes, through a network of vetted local operators that is being built. Tell us the location and we confirm a certified operator before you commit. Processing is done in-house either way.

What coordinate system will my data be in?

Whatever your project uses. In Canada that is often a UTM zone on NAD83(CSRS) with CGVD2013 heights, though some municipalities still use older datums; in the US, often a State Plane zone with NAVD88 heights. We confirm it with your surveyor or engineer before flying.

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