A measurable map of your site, in 72 hours.
Drone photogrammetry and mapping across Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Orthomosaics, surface models and CAD contours at 3cm horizontal and 5cm vertical absolute accuracy, verified against independent check points and delivered in the coordinate system your project already uses.
What is drone photogrammetry?
Photogrammetry is measurement from photographs. The aircraft flies a planned grid over your site taking overlapping images, each one tagged with the precise position and orientation of the camera at the moment of exposure. Software then finds the same physical feature in many different photographs and, because it knows where each photograph was taken from, calculates where that feature must be in three dimensions.
Do that across millions of matched features and you have a dense measured model of the site surface. From that model come the four things a project actually uses: an orthomosaic you can measure off, a digital surface model, contours for design, and volumes for earthworks.
Where it is the right tool
On open ground — graded sites, quarries, roads, roofs, agricultural land, anything where the camera can see the surface you care about — photogrammetry is the most accurate and the most economical aerial method available. It out-performs LiDAR on absolute accuracy and costs materially less to fly and process.
Where it stops working is vegetation. A camera cannot see through a canopy, so on a treed site photogrammetry measures the top of the trees. That is the correct answer to a different question. If you need the ground beneath, see drone LiDAR survey.
Why fly it instead of walking it?
Against a ground survey crew
A crew with a GNSS rover measures points one at a time and produces a few thousand of them across a day. A single photogrammetric flight produces millions, covering the whole surface rather than the points somebody chose to occupy. On an active site it also means nobody is walking through plant movement with a survey pole.
The trade is that a crew can measure a specific feature to a specification a camera cannot resolve, and can occupy points a drone cannot see. The two are complementary, and we supply surfaces to survey firms who then send a crew for the detail.
Against LiDAR
Photogrammetry is more accurate in absolute terms on visible ground, and it produces the colour imagery that LiDAR does not. It is also considerably cheaper, because the payload is a camera rather than a laser scanner.
LiDAR earns its cost in exactly one situation, and it is not precision: canopy. If the surface you need is hidden under vegetation, no amount of photogrammetric processing will recover it.
Against satellite or historical imagery
Free imagery is months or years old, typically 30 to 50cm per pixel, and has no usable vertical component. It is fine for context and useless for measurement.
A flight gives you 2 to 4cm per pixel, dated to the day, with elevations. On a site that changes weekly, the age of the data matters as much as its resolution.
What clients use it for
Pre-construction site mapping
An existing-conditions survey before design work starts: orthomosaic, surface model and contours at the interval your civil engineer asked for, in the project coordinate system. Cheaper and faster than a ground crew on any site above about two hectares. Construction services.
Earthworks quantities and progress claims
Cut and fill measured against design surface, and month-on-month volume movement for progress claims. A measured surface settles a quantity dispute in a way a truck count does not. See volumetric survey.
Stockpile inventory
Aggregate, sand, wood chip and fill piles measured to a surface rather than estimated. Repeat flights on a schedule turn a single number into drawdown over time, which is what a reconciliation actually needs. Mining and aggregate.
Roof and asset base mapping
High-resolution orthomosaics of roofs and hardstanding for condition mapping, area take-off and planning, with defects located in map coordinates rather than described in a report. See aerial inspections.
Development and planning submissions
Current, dated site imagery for rezoning, permitting and community consultation, at a resolution that makes the parcel legible rather than approximate.
Landscape and site design
Base mapping for landscape architects and site planners: accurate surfaces, existing feature locations and imagery to design over, replacing a tape measure and a hand sketch.
Specifications, in writing
Every job ships with a method and accuracy note stating what was achieved on that site, not what is achievable in ideal conditions.
| Deliverable | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Orthomosaic | GeoTIFF | Geometrically corrected, measurable, 2–4 cm GSD typical |
| Digital surface model | GeoTIFF DSM | Everything the camera can see, including vegetation and structures |
| Digital terrain model | GeoTIFF DTM | On open ground only. Under canopy this requires LiDAR |
| Contours | DXF / SHP | Interval of your choosing; 0.25 m and 0.5 m most common |
| Dense point cloud | LAS / LAZ | Colourised from the imagery |
| Textured 3D mesh | OBJ / FBX | For visualisation and clash review. See 3D modelling |
| Volume report | PDF + CSV | Per-pile or per-region, against a stated base surface |
| Method & accuracy note | Control network, check point residuals, achieved accuracy |
| Horizontal accuracy | 3 cm |
|---|---|
| Vertical accuracy | 5 cm |
| Ground sample distance | 2–4 cm |
| Image overlap | 75% / 55% |
| Single-day coverage | up to ~100 ha |
| Standard turnaround | 72 hours |
| Coordinate system | NAD83(CSRS) UTM 10N |
| Vertical datum | CGVD2013 |
Accuracy figures are manufacturer system specifications for the payload deployed, verified per job against independent check points excluded from the solution. Achieved accuracy varies with terrain, flight height, image overlap and control distribution, and is stated per job. Survey deliverables are provided for information and planning purposes and are not a legal survey. Boundary, legal plan and statutory right-of-way work requires a British Columbia Land Surveyor.
What flies, and what it carries
Mapping missions are flown on a DJI Matrice 350 RTK — 55 minutes of endurance, IP55 rated for coastal weather, and fitted with a ParaZero parachute that permits operations closer to people than an unequipped airframe. Positioning is RTK-corrected against an EMLID Reach RS2 base station established on site, with Propeller AeroPoints providing self-surveying ground control across the area.
The photogrammetric payload is a full-frame Zenmuse P1 class camera with a global mechanical shutter and microsecond-level time synchronisation between camera, gimbal, flight controller and RTK module. That synchronisation is the unglamorous detail that determines whether the accuracy figure holds: without it, the recorded position belongs to a slightly different instant than the exposure.
Small sites and confined access are flown on a DJI Mavic 4 Pro. Full equipment and certification list.
How a mapping job runs
Scope the resolution
What you need to identify sets the ground sample distance, and what the data has to sit inside sets the control network. We size the survey to the requirement rather than over-delivering and billing for it.
Plan and authorise
Flight lines, overlap, airspace review and any Transport Canada or NAV CANADA authorisation. Sites near YYJ, YCD and YBL frequently sit in controlled airspace, and that clearance is arranged before we mobilise.
Control and capture
Base station established, ground control and check points set and observed, then the planned mission flown with coverage and image quality verified on site before demobilisation.
Process
Alignment, dense reconstruction, surface generation and orthorectification, then residuals checked against the withheld control points.
Deliver and walk through
Files in your coordinate system and formats, the method and accuracy note, and a call with whoever is using the data if it is their first aerial dataset.
Ask to see the work
The fastest way to judge a survey provider is to look at what they hand over. Ask for a sample deliverable from work of the same type as yours and we will send one, with the client's identifying detail removed.
A sample deliverable
An orthomosaic tile, a surface model with contours, or the method note and check-point residuals from a comparable job. A real deliverable answers more than a paragraph about somebody else's site.
Architectural visualisation
Elite Drone Solutions has provided us with quality and great service. Their team is easy to work with and very professional. We would definitely recommend them to anyone that is looking for aerial work on Vancouver Island.
What your procurement team will ask for
We fly under a Transport Canada Advanced Operations certificate with licensed pilots, which is the level required to operate in controlled airspace and near people. Airspace authorisations are obtained before mobilisation, and the airframe carries a certified parachute for work near occupied areas.
We carry $5M in aviation liability insurance and a certificate is available on request for your project file. WorkSafeBC clearance is available, site safety orientation is completed on arrival, and we work to the host contractor's requirements.
Survey deliverables are provided for information and planning purposes and are not a legal survey. Boundary, legal plan and statutory right-of-way work requires a British Columbia Land Surveyor. We do not provide engineering assessments or geotechnical opinions; measurement data is supplied for a qualified professional to interpret.
- Transport Canada Advanced Operations certificate
- Licensed pilots, current flight reviews
- $5M aviation liability insurance
- WorkSafeBC clearance letter available
- Certified parachute for operations near people
- Airspace authorisation handled by us
- Written method and accuracy note per job
Across Vancouver Island
Based in Victoria, mobilising Island-wide and to the mainland for larger programs. Travel beyond the Capital Regional District is quoted at cost and stated up front.
Victoria & Saanich
Same-week mobilisation. YYJ controlled airspace handled routinely.
Langford & Westshore
Heavy residential and commercial development.
Nanaimo & central Island
Industrial, port and aggregate operations. YCD coordination.
Duncan & Cowichan
Forestry tenures, agricultural land, gravel operations.
Courtenay & Comox
North Island forestry and development. YBL coordination.
Elsewhere in BC
Mainland and remote programs on a mobilisation basis.
Drone mapping, answered
How accurate is drone photogrammetry?
The Zenmuse P1 payload we deploy is specified by the manufacturer at 3cm horizontal and 5cm vertical absolute accuracy, measured on a mapping mission at 3cm ground sample distance, 15 m/s, with 75 per cent front and 55 per cent side image overlap. We add ground control and withhold independent check points from the processing solution, then report the accuracy actually achieved on your site in the delivery note. We do not quote the aircraft RTK positioning figure of 1cm as though it were deliverable accuracy, because it is not.
What is the difference between photogrammetry and LiDAR?
Photogrammetry measures surfaces a camera can see, by matching features across overlapping photographs. LiDAR measures distance directly with a laser and can return from the ground through gaps in a canopy. On open or lightly vegetated ground photogrammetry is more accurate and materially cheaper. Under trees or standing crop it cannot see the ground at all, and it will produce a smooth, confident, entirely wrong terrain model rather than an error. If your site has canopy and you need ground elevations, you need LiDAR.
What is an orthomosaic?
A single geometrically corrected aerial image of your whole site, assembled from hundreds of overlapping photographs and rectified so that every point sits in its true map position. Unlike a normal photograph it has a uniform scale, so you can measure distances and areas directly off it. Delivered as a GeoTIFF you can bring into CAD or GIS as a base layer.
What ground sample distance do I need?
Ground sample distance is the real-world size of one pixel. At 2cm GSD you can see a survey pin; at 5cm you can see a kerb line but not a crack. Most construction and earthworks work sits between 2 and 4cm. Higher resolution means lower flight height, which means more flight lines and more processing, so it costs more. Tell us what you need to identify and we will size it to that rather than defaulting to the finest setting.
Do you need ground control points?
For a relative measurement, such as comparing two surveys of the same site, RTK alone is often sufficient. For an absolute survey that has to sit correctly in a project coordinate system, or for anything that will be checked, we set ground control and hold back independent check points. Ground control is what makes the accuracy figure verifiable rather than asserted.
How large an area can you cover in a day?
A single mobilisation typically covers up to roughly 100 hectares at 3cm GSD, more at coarser resolution, less where terrain or airspace restricts flight lines. Standard processing and delivery is 72 hours from the flight for sites of that size.
Tell us about the site
Location, rough area, what the data is for and your timeline. That is usually enough to quote without a site visit, and we reply within one business day.
If the job turns out to need a legal survey, a total station or LiDAR rather than photogrammetry, we will say so. We would rather lose a quote than deliver the wrong measurement.