Drone platform guides earthworks projects

Photo: John Deere

Kespry now offers a suite of capabilities that extends the value of aerial intelligence to the full life cycle of planning, bidding and managing earthworks projects in the major site construction industry.

The company is focused on making it easier to capture, process, use and share high-resolution information from the field with its fully autonomous aerial intelligence system.

Capabilities include grade planning and analysis, site and surface comparison including cut/fill visualization, and design plan development and compliance.

Compared to other drone mapping solutions, the earthworks-specific tools enable construction companies to more accurately plan the work, improve their cost structure, and deliver safer working environments through frequent analysis of changes to the site, according to Kespry.

The new capabilities are a result of customer and partner feedback, including from John Deere, dealers and clients.

The new earthworks capabilities provide:

• Faster and more accurate production of earthwork grading plans through on-demand drone data capture and analysis. Mass haul plans can be easily developed before projects begin with an entire site mapped and analyzed in hours. New tools also enable haul road planning to support more efficient site planning.
• Reduced costs for grading project bids, with project estimates delivered faster than with traditional estimating techniques. Ongoing operational costs are also reduced with on-demand cut/fill analysis enabling close management of the project and specific bid requests.
• More efficient and safer project operations with progress comparisons delivered through daily drone flights. This enables design plan comparison through project plan overlay onto Kespry data, reducing the complexity and cost of rework. Safety can also be improved through close monitoring of change and analysis of grades around the site.