Compare Design Plans and Drone Maps with New Overlay Tool

Interesting blog below from Drone Deploy on overlaying CAD type plans on Drone maps so that you can compare the as-built up to date site map with design plans. A fantastic tool for visualising the site, providing information, explaining requirements to staff and 3rd party, spotting potential errors or clashes, updating stakeholders etc. The construction industry is one of the main industries that can benefit from the use of drones.

Easily view and compare data layers within DroneDeploy

An aerial map of a site can be helpful, but sometimes you need guidelines to understand what you’re looking at — just imagine trying to follow directions using a map with no street names.

Now, with our new overlay tool, it’s easy to import and overlay data layers right within the DroneDeploy interface — letting you quickly compare actual site conditions to other spatial information like design plans and utility maps.

On construction sites, project managers like Nick Johnson at Tilt Rock of Texas use plans overlaid on drone maps to help them keep projects on track. “Now, if I need a contractor to be aware of a design change before he lays pipe, I simply walk over to him with my tablet, blow up a particular section of overlaid plans and show him exactly what he needs to know,” said Nick.

“I’m able to discover conflicts earlier, communicate quickly to everyone involved, and implement changes long before contractors install incorrect work. I’m saving an enormous amount of time and money.” — Nick Johnson, Tilt Rock of Texas

Learn more about how Nick uses drone maps on the job site.

How to Add an Overlay to Your Drone Map

To add an overlay to your map, just click the “Add” button, select a PNG image with a transparent background, and then drag the two markers to align the image using recognizable features on the map.

Don’t have a PNG of your plan? Convert from a PDF using Acrobat Reader or online tools like PNGtoPDF .

You can even add multiple plans to the same map and show or hide different layers.

Once you’ve added an overlay, bring your map into the field on your mobile device or share it with your team in just one click!