Picking the Best Hardware and Software for Your Drone Program

Interested in surveying your quarry with a drone? Aggregates professionals are using drone software to document progress at their quarries at every stage, and drone survey data can increase productivity at your quarry, saving you time and money.   

Even more important than the drone you select is the processing platform you use to turn flight data into 3D maps and measurements that support your day-to-day operations. Here’s how to select the best hardware and software for your drone program, and why a 3D drone mapping and data analytics solution, like Propeller Aero, is uniquely designed to support your operations.

Which drone hardware is best for your operations?

 If you’re brand-new to drone surveying, you’re likely wondering what drone is best for your day-to-day workflows. There are plenty of options on the market, and while you can spend time and effort endlessly scouring online reviews, you really just need a drone with a high-quality camera at a reasonable price point. The Phantom 4 series is ideal for drone surveying at a variety of job sites.

Buying a quality drone is important, but you can really just think of it as a data “collector.” It’s what you do with the data that can make all the difference in your daily operations, which is why choosing the right processing software is even more critical than selecting the drone.

The right software maximizes the value of your drone survey data

Do your research as you choose a drone data processing platform—the time you spend will pay off. For professionals in the aggregates industry, you need to pick a platform like Propeller that’s optimized for your specific needs. Fly your site, upload your data to the cloud and Propeller does all the heavy lifting after that, allowing you to track progress and productivity at your site, monitor environmental zones, calculate stockpile volumes, and so much more, all in a matter of clicks. What are some of the things that make the Propeller Platform an ideal drone data processing solution? Here’s a rundown:

• Accuracy. Accuracy is a top priority in drone survey operations, which is why using proper ground control points when surveying is so important. Propeller’s smart ground control points, called AeroPoints, provide verification for the drone data you collect in flight to ensure precise survey maps of your worksite. 
• Complementing existing workflows. Propeller’s industry-focused solutions allow you to easily import, export, transfigure and manipulate data to suit your unique business needs. 
• Supporting local site calibrations. If you operate on a local grid, you need a processing platform like Propeller to support local coordinate systems and ensure your data is delivered accurately.

Drone survey data streamlines everyday workflows at a variety of job sites, including busy quarries. If you’re new to the world of drones, the processing platform you invest in is even more significant than the drone hardware you pick. An all-in-one solution like Propeller Aero is specifically geared toward the aggregates industry, capturing data that’s useful for every project from start to finish.