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Linear Infrastructure

Drone Corridor
Survey

Kilometre-scale mapping of linear infrastructure – roads, railways, pipelines, powerlines, and waterways. We deliver continuous orthomosaics, longitudinal profiles, cross-sections, and 3D corridor models with ±5cm accuracy.

Corridor survey pricing from €700 per day

Last updated: April 2026

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km-Scale Coverage
±5cm Accuracy
EASA Certified
CORRIDOR SCAN
ESB power line LiDAR point cloud corridor survey, Ireland
EASA & IAA
Certified Operators
€6.5M
Public Liability Insurance
500+
Projects Nationwide
Since 2016
Ireland’s Longest-Serving
2-Day
Turnaround on Deliverables
What You Receive

Key Deliverables

Complete linear corridor data packages designed for infrastructure design, maintenance planning, and environmental assessment.

Corridor Orthomosaics

Continuous, georeferenced aerial imagery along the entire corridor length for visual reference and feature identification.

Longitudinal Profiles

Continuous elevation profiles along the centreline showing gradient changes, high points, and low points over the full route.

Cross-Section Sets

Transverse cross-sections at regular intervals (10m, 20m, 50m) or at specified chainages for design and earthworks calculations.

Vegetation Clearance Data

Vegetation encroachment mapping showing clearance distances from infrastructure for maintenance and safety planning.

3D Corridor Models

Dense 3D point clouds and surface models of the entire corridor for visualization, BIM integration, and clash detection.

CAD Centreline Data

Surveyed centreline alignment with chainages, horizontal and vertical geometry exported as DXF/DWG for design software.

Planning a Linear
Infrastructure Project?

Send us your route alignment or KML file and we’ll provide a fixed-price quote for the entire corridor – from capture to CAD-ready deliverables.

Get Your Quote 087 205 2331
±5cm
Survey Accuracy
10km+
Corridor Length per Day
60%+
Savings vs Traditional
500+
Surveys Completed
Our Methodology

How Drone Corridor Surveys Work

Linear infrastructure is where drone survey delivers its biggest time advantage over traditional methods.

01

Route Planning & Permissions

We plan the flight corridor in advance, identifying controlled airspace, populated areas, and any sensitive sites along the route. For long-distance linear surveys (10km+), we sequence the corridor into manageable blocks and coordinate with local ATC where required. All permissions are handled by DSI before mobilisation.

02

GCP Layout & Control

Ground control points are placed at regular intervals (typically 500m–1km) along the corridor and surveyed with the Emlid RS3 GNSS receiver using NRTK correction. This ties the aerial data to the national coordinate system (ITM) and ensures consistent accuracy across the full length of the route.

03

Systematic Linear Flight

The Matrice 300 RTK flies the corridor at 80–120m altitude with a scan width of 120–200m, capturing the route plus a 50–100m buffer on each side. Flight speed is optimised for image overlap. A 10km corridor typically takes 3–4 hours of flight time across multiple batteries.

04

Processed Deliverables

Outputs include a georeferenced orthophoto strip, DSM, and LAS point cloud of the full corridor. For pipeline and cable route surveys, we extract cross-section profiles at specified intervals. Data is delivered in the format required by the design team – typically Civil 3D, AutoCAD, or ArcGIS compatible formats.

Where We Work

Corridor Survey Applications

Any linear infrastructure asset that needs mapping, condition assessment, or route planning.

Infrastructure & Utilities

  • Gas and water pipeline route surveys
  • High-voltage power line inspection and ROW mapping
  • Road and motorway corridor surveys
  • Rail track geometry and vegetation encroachment
  • Fibre and telecoms cable route planning

Planning & Environment

  • Wind farm access road surveys
  • Watercourse and river bank mapping
  • Coastal erosion monitoring transects
  • Heritage boundary and field system mapping
  • Greenway and active travel route surveys
Applications

Who Uses Corridor Surveys?

Our corridor survey data supports infrastructure design, maintenance planning, and environmental assessment across Ireland.

Road Design

Railway Surveys

Powerline Routes

Pipeline Corridors

Greenway Planning

Canal Mapping

Flood Defence Routes

Cable Route Surveys

What Drone Survey Cannot Do Alone on Corridor Projects

A drone corridor survey delivers an excellent orthophoto strip, DSM, and point cloud of everything above ground. What it cannot do is penetrate dense vegetation canopy to give you bare-earth terrain beneath it. For pipeline routes or rail corridors running through mature forestry, you will need LiDAR rather than photogrammetry to get a usable ground model under the trees.

Drone survey also cannot replace the legal boundary survey needed for CPO or wayleave negotiations. The positional accuracy is sufficient for design purposes, but the cadastral boundary definition requires a licensed surveyor to certify. Our data feeds into that process – it does not replace the final legal step.

Our Recommendation

For corridor projects with mixed terrain – some open, some forested – we often recommend a hybrid approach: photogrammetry on the open sections and LiDAR on the wooded sections. This keeps costs down on the majority of the route while ensuring you have usable bare-earth data everywhere you need it. We can quote both as a combined package.

Our Work

Corridor and Linear Survey Projects

LiDAR and photogrammetric surveys of power lines, pipelines, roads, and rail corridors across Ireland.

Drone 32km linear LiDAR corridor survey Ireland
32km power line corridor – continuous LiDAR survey completed in a single mobilisation
ESB power line LiDAR point cloud survey Ireland
ESB transmission line – conductor sag, tower geometry, and vegetation encroachment survey
Drone LiDAR power line vegetation clearance survey
Classified point cloud – conductors, pylons, vegetation, and ground clearly separated
Why Choose Us

Why Choose Drone Services Ireland?

Proven expertise in kilometre-scale corridor mapping with seamless data quality from end to end.

EASA & IAA Certified

Fully certified for linear corridor flights including operations near roads, railways, and overhead infrastructure.

Multi-Battery Missions

Seamless coverage over long distances with pre-planned multi-battery missions ensuring continuous, gap-free data.

Fixed Pricing

Per-kilometre pricing with no hidden costs. You know the total cost before we start – regardless of terrain complexity.

Fast Turnaround

Processed corridor data delivered within days. Multi-day corridor captures handled with continuous ground control networks.

Nationwide Coverage

We operate across all 32 counties in Ireland. No travel surcharges for most locations nationwide.

We Handle Permissions

All airspace approvals, NOTAMs, road authority notifications, and landowner communications managed by us.

How It Works

Three Simple Steps to Your Data

We plan and execute corridor surveys of any length – from 500m access roads to 50km pipeline routes.

1

Get Your Quote

Send us your route alignment, KML file, or just mark the corridor on a map. We’ll quote a fixed per-kilometre price within 24 hours.

2

We Plan & Fly

We handle all permissions, set ground control along the route, and fly systematic coverage with seamless overlap between flight segments.

3

Data Delivered

Receive continuous corridor mapping data – orthomosaics, profiles, cross-sections, and 3D models – in your preferred CAD format.

Get Started Today
See It In Action

Corridor Survey – 10km Linear Capture

Pipeline route survey showing systematic corridor mapping with orthophoto and DSM output.

Coverage

We Cover All 32 Counties

Nationwide drone corridor survey coverage across Ireland with no travel surcharges for most locations.

Dublin Cork Galway Limerick Waterford
Kilkenny
Wexford
Kerry
Clare
Mayo
Donegal
Meath
Kildare
Wicklow
Tipperary
Belfast

Plus all remaining counties across Ireland. Contact us for your location.

Related Services

Other Services You May Need

Utility & Power Line Inspection

Overhead line, substation, and pipeline corridor inspection and monitoring.

LiDAR Survey

Centimetre-accurate point cloud data for DTM/DSM generation and volumetric analysis.

Bridge Inspection

Detailed structural inspection of bridges and culverts without lane closures.

Topographical Survey

Survey-grade aerial topo surveys with GCP control for planning and engineering.
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about our drone corridor survey service.

A drone corridor survey captures continuous aerial mapping data along a linear route – such as a road, railway, pipeline, or waterway. The drone flies systematic flight lines along the corridor, collecting overlapping imagery that is processed into seamless orthomosaics, terrain models, and cross-sections.
Standard corridor widths range from 30m to 200m either side of the centreline. Wider corridors are achieved by adding parallel flight lines. We’ll advise on the optimal corridor width based on your design requirements and the features you need captured.
We can typically capture 10–15 kilometres of corridor per day depending on corridor width, terrain, and airspace constraints. Longer corridors are surveyed over multiple days with a continuous ground control network to ensure consistent accuracy throughout.
No. Drone corridor surveys are carried out from the air, so there is no need for road closures, lane restrictions, or traffic management. This is one of the key advantages over traditional ground survey methods for road and rail corridors.
Our corridor surveys achieve ±5cm accuracy using RTK/PPK GNSS and regularly spaced ground control points along the route. We place GCPs at intervals to ensure consistent accuracy over the full corridor length, verified against independent check points.
Yes. For corridors that pass through both open and vegetated terrain, we can deploy a combined photogrammetry and LiDAR approach. Photogrammetry provides high-resolution imagery for open sections, while LiDAR penetrates tree canopy to capture ground surfaces in wooded areas.
Get Started

Commission Your Corridor Survey Today

Tell us your corridor route and requirements. We will confirm scope, timeline, and pricing within 24 hours.

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