Mapping & survey · Coming Coming

Your whole site, one link

The DroneLink site viewer will let everyone on a project open the latest drone map in a browser and measure it. It is coming. Today your mapping deliverables arrive as standard files, by link, ready for the software you already use.

Coming

This service is launching. Register your site and we'll contact you when it opens in your area.

Where things stand

What exists today, and what is coming

Be clear on the status before you plan around it. Today, every mapping job ends with standard files: a GeoTIFF orthomosaic, a surface model (DSM) and terrain model (DTM), contours as DXF, a point cloud as LAS or LAZ, a textured 3D mesh as OBJ, and volume or progress reports as PDF. Processing is done in-house. The files are posted to the project record and delivered by link, not a shared folder that someone has to tidy later.

Those files open in the tools your team already runs: AutoCAD and Civil 3D for design, ArcGIS or QGIS for GIS work, and Google Earth for a quick look. If you have a CAD tech or GIS analyst, they can measure and overlay today with no new software.

The site viewer is coming. It is the piece that lets the people without CAD or GIS, such as the owner, the site super, the project manager, or the lender's monitor, open the map on a laptop or phone and answer their own questions. Until it launches, nothing on this page describes a working feature, and we will not tell you otherwise.

What exists today, and what is coming: Illustration

Planned features

What the viewer will do

Deep-zoom orthomosaic. Open a full-resolution site map in the browser and zoom from the whole parcel to a single rebar mat without downloading a large file.
Measure in real units. Distance, area and spot elevation in metres, square metres and hectares (or feet and acres for US projects), read from the georeferenced map and surface model.
Volumes. Draw around a stockpile or excavation and get a volume against a chosen base surface, the same method explained on our stockpile volumes page.
Cut and fill against a design surface. Load the design grade and see where the site is high or low, with a cut/fill map and totals. See earthworks, cut and fill for how that comparison works.
Compare flights. Swipe or toggle between two dates to see what changed, for construction progress and claims.
Accuracy report alongside the map. The checkpoint results for that flight sit next to the data, so nobody measures a map without knowing how far to trust it.
Share one link with the team. Invite the architect, engineer, surveyor, owner or insurer to the same project, with view-only or comment access.
Export. Pull the standard files, or a clipped area, out of the viewer when someone needs to work in CAD or GIS.

What goes wrong

Why a browser viewer matters

The map lives on one person's computer

The GIS analyst has the GeoTIFF. Everyone else gets a screenshot in an email, with no scale and no date.

How we handle itToday, the files sit on the project record and anyone invited can download them. Coming: the viewer opens them in a browser for people without GIS. →

Measurements from a screenshot

Someone scales a distance off a PDF, gets it wrong, and it ends up in an RFI.

How we handle itToday, measure in CAD or GIS from the delivered files. Coming: measure in the viewer from the georeferenced data itself. →

Wrong flight, wrong date

Two maps from different weeks look the same. People compare the wrong ones.

How we handle itEvery delivery is filed by flight date on the project record today. Coming: side-by-side comparison with the dates on screen. →

Huge files that nobody can open

A full point cloud or orthomosaic can run to many gigabytes and chokes email and ordinary laptops.

How we handle itToday, delivery is by link, with lighter versions where they help. Coming: streaming tiles, so the browser only loads what is on screen. →

The people around the job

Who uses a shared site map

Owner or developer

They need from you: A current picture of the site and a quick answer to 'how far along are we'.
You need from them: Access to the project and agreement on how often to fly.
On the DroneLink record: Today: a link to the latest ortho and progress report. Coming: open the viewer and compare dates.

Site superintendent

They need from you: Quantities and distances on the ground, fast.
You need from them: The design surface and grid, and site access for the flight.
On the DroneLink record: Today: the files go to whoever runs CAD. Coming: measure directly in the viewer on a tablet.

Surveyor or engineer

They need from you: Data they can check, with control and checkpoint results.
You need from them: Their control coordinates and datum, and their sign-off on use.
On the DroneLink record: Standard files and the accuracy report today. The viewer will not replace their survey; it shares the data.

Lender or insurer

They need from you: Independent, dated evidence of the state of the site.
You need from them: Their permission terms and who can see what.
On the DroneLink record: Today: a dated deliverable link. Coming: view-only access to the same record.

Using it today

How to work with mapping data now

Order the flight

Tell us the site, the purpose (volumes, progress, topography, as-built) and the coordinate system you work in. The how drone mapping works guide explains what drives the choices.

Agree on accuracy

Decide with your surveyor whether you need ground control or checkpoints. That choice matters more than the camera.

Receive the link

The project record gets the files, the processing notes and the flight date. Invite your team to it.

Open in your own software

GeoTIFF into GIS or Civil 3D, LAS or LAZ into point cloud tools, DXF contours into CAD, PDF reports straight to the people who need numbers.

Register for the viewer

Tell us you want early access. When it opens, existing projects on the platform are the natural place to start.

How to work with mapping data now: Illustration

Questions

Can I view a drone map without GIS software?

Yes. A GeoTIFF orthomosaic opens in Google Earth or free GIS software such as QGIS, and PDF reports open anywhere. The DroneLink browser viewer, which will do this without any install, is coming.

How do I measure distance on a drone map?

Open the georeferenced orthomosaic in CAD or GIS and measure between points; the file carries its scale and coordinates. Do not measure from a screenshot or a PDF export. In-browser measuring is part of the coming DroneLink site viewer.

What file formats do drone mapping deliverables come in?

Typically GeoTIFF for orthomosaics and elevation models, LAS or LAZ for point clouds, OBJ for 3D meshes, DXF for contours and linework, and PDF for reports. These are industry standards, so your CAD, GIS and civil design software can read them.

Can I compare two drone flights of the same site?

Yes, if both flights use the same coordinate system and control. Today you would overlay them in GIS or CAD. Side-by-side comparison in the browser is coming in the site viewer.

How accurate are measurements from a drone map?

It depends on the setup. As general industry knowledge, maps with RTK or PPK positioning and ground control are typically accurate to a few centimetres, while maps without control can be off by decimetres to metres. Each flight's accuracy should be checked against independent checkpoints.

Is the DroneLink site viewer available now?

No. It is coming. Mapping deliverables are available today as standard files delivered by link, and you can register interest in the viewer when you order.

Can I share a drone map with my whole project team?

Yes. Today you invite people to the project record, where the files and reports live. When the viewer launches, the same invitation will let them open the map in a browser.

Keep reading

Mapping & survey

Tell us about your Vancouver site.

An address and what you need is enough to start. We reply with the price, who will fly it and when.

Order a flight Talk to us