Professional Drone Surveying Services Ireland - Survey-Grade Accuracy
What is Professional Drone Surveying?
Drone surveying and mapping combine the capture of high-resolution, georeferenced drone images with accurate GPS data from the ground, obtained through ground control points and checkpoints, to process the data and create geospatial data outputs.
Photogrammetry produces a very dense point cloud, the basis for all other deliverables: a digital elevation model (DEM), a digital terrain model (DTM) and an orthophoto. 3D or BIM models can be generated to provide a digital twin.
We provide survey-grade topographic surveys using our RTK-enabled UAV drone surveying equipment, GNSS-surveyed ground points, and a comprehensive processing workflow.
Drone Surveys take about 30% of the time of Traditional Surveying, offer significant safety benefits, and result in cost savings.
Drone Survey Accuracy & Quality Standards
- ±5cm accuracy details
- RTK/PPK technology explanation
- Survey-grade deliverables
- Quality assurance process
Drone Survey Applications in Ireland
Construction and Development
- Planning and site monitoring
- Earthwork volume calculations
- Stockpile Calculations
- Audit trail of milestones
- Verification of building footprint
- Cut and fill optimisation
- Site logistics planning
Mining and Quarrying
- Stockpile volume measurements
- Pit progression monitoring
- Extraction planning
- Environmental compliance inspections
- Blast planning and analysis
- Slope stability assessment
Infrastructure and Utilities
- Mapping the corridors of land that roads and rail take
- Pipeline route planning
- Power line corridor surveys
- Inspection of bridges and structures
- Drainage analysis
- Asset management mapping
- Solar Farm Planning and Analysis
- Wind Farm Access and Planning
Agriculture and Forestry
- Crop health monitoring
- Irrigation planning
- Forest inventory surveys
- Land use mapping
- Soil erosion monitoring
- Planning for precision agriculture
City Planning and Architecture
- Urban growth monitoring
- Assessments of development impact
- Green space mapping
- Traffic flow analysis
- Flood risk assessment
- Heritage site documentation
Environmental Management
- Coastal erosion monitoring
- Watershed mapping
- Habitat assessment
- Environmental impact studies
- Conservation planning
- Pollution monitoring
Drone Survey Cost & Pricing Ireland
The simple answer is that pricing varies based on several factors. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to drone survey costs, as each project is unique.
The location, size of the project, time of year, weather, airspace, and surrounding areas, such as roads and building structures, can all affect pricing.
We customise our drone land surveying prices to provide clients with the best possible data at a very reasonable price.
A drone topographic survey can achieve savings of up to 65-70%.
We consider all these and provide a custom price per job based on these variables.
Drone Services Ireland is recognised as one of Ireland’s leading drone survey companies, providing the highest quality digital aerial land surveys.
Drone Topographic Surveys Ireland
Ireland’s rugged landscape is ideally suited to drone surveys. Take a look at the image to the right, a 3D point cloud of a mountain with an elevation difference of over 600 metres. We had significant challenges driving up the track due to the steepness, but the drone had no issues capturing the data. Leveraging terrain-following technology, the drone maintains a consistent distance from the ground, ensuring the accuracy of the captured data.
Equipment Used:
– DJI Matrice 300 RTK
– PPK/RTK accuracy: ±2-3cm
– Ground sampling distance: 1.2cm/pixel
– Flight altitude: 50-120m
– Weather conditions: Wind <12m/s
Why choose Drone Services Ireland?
Drone Services Ireland: Unmatched Expertise in Aerial Land Surveying
With a decade of specialised experience, Drone Services Ireland stands as the nation’s most accomplished and trusted UAV surveying company. Our track record speaks for itself: we’ve successfully executed some of Ireland’s most technically demanding aerial surveys, including operations across extreme elevation differences exceeding 800 metres and complex missions that conventional manned aviation could not accomplish.
Industry-Leading Capabilities
What sets us apart is our combination of meticulous planning, cutting-edge technology, and deep operational expertise. We don’t just conduct surveys—we solve the “impossible” challenges that other providers cannot handle. Our state-of-the-art equipment, paired with nearly ten years of refined methodology in both photogrammetric and LiDAR surveying, enables us to deliver results where others reach their limitations.
Comprehensive Certifications & Accreditations
Our operations maintain multiple IAA and EASA accreditations, with certified drone pilots qualified across both Open and Specific Categories. This regulatory expertise ensures not only compliance but optimal performance in even the most restricted or challenging airspace environments.
Proven Track Record
With thousands of successful operations completed, our experience spans the full spectrum of commercial drone applications. This extensive operational history has refined our processes and positioned us as the go-to solution for projects requiring both precision and reliability. Acknowledged as the top Drone Surveyors in the country and trusted by Engineers, Surveyors and Planners.
Industry Leadership & Professional Standing
Our commitment to advancing the drone industry extends far beyond individual projects. We maintain active leadership roles in Ireland’s professional drone community, currently serving as the Association Secretary of Drone Professionals Ireland, the country’s newest professional-only drone organisation.
When precision, experience, and results matter most, Ireland’s most challenging aerial land survey projects trust Drone Services Ireland.
Drone Survey Equipment & Technology
We maintain one of the most up-to-date drone fleets in the country to ensure we benefit from the latest advances in drone technology, but keep costs down for clients by maximising the efficiency brought by newer platforms.
DJI M300’s with L1 and P1 payloads
DJI Matrice 4 Enterprise
DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise.
Please have a look at our Drone Equipment page for more detailed information on our fleet.
What are the benefits of drone surveying services?
In summary, the benefits of drone technology are clear.
- Speed – 4 times faster than traditional surveying
- Accuracy
- Cost Savings – 60+% savings
- Data Visualisation
Across many sectors, drone data significantly benefits many projects.
The visual aspect of drone data makes it more easily relatable.
Viewing a complete three-dimensional picture is akin to interpreting dots and lines on a page, which can only be understood by trained engineers.
The significant advantage of drone surveying over traditional surveying is the speed at which data can be delivered. Drone Surveys can cover much larger areas more quickly than conventional surveying methods.
Drone Surveying is also safer; people do not have to walk in dangerous places. Where ground control is required, this can be planned and placed safely without the risk of twisted ankles or breaks.
Drone Surveying Workflow - How is a drone survey conducted?
The first step in any drone survey is gathering the requirements and understanding the project with the client. We often set up online meetings to discuss and understand the project and outputs that the client requires.
The outputs from a drone survey versus an aerial mapping mission can vary and require different levels of post-processing; these requirements often dictate the drone surveying software platform chosen to process the survey data.
Comprehensive Mission Planning
Completing a successful drone land surveying mission requires as much planning before arriving at the site as it takes to complete it on-site. We take the requirements from the client as a boundary KML or a screenshot of the area from Google Earth.
Selecting the right drone from Our Industry-Leading fleet
We import the boundary into our flight planning software, UGCS or Pilot 2, and select the appropriate surveying and mapping drone for the mission while planning. We set up the job parameters, which vary based on requirements and include front and side overlap, ground sampling distance calculations, flight height limitations, etc., to accurately depict the flight and avoid costly mistakes.
Thorough Pre-Flight Checks
We conduct a risk assessment following our Specific Category Authorisation and check the weather conditions to ascertain when we can complete the mission. When on-site, we lay out ground control points in pre-determined locations and survey them. We launch the drone when all our pre-flight checks are completed, and it captures data based on our flight plan.
GDPR Compliant Processed Data
Once the data has been collected, we’ll process it. Our processing is fully GDPR compliant, so you can be assured that your data is safe and secure.
Drone Surveying and Mapping FAQs
Learn more about our Drone Surveying and Mapping Services.
How much does drone surveying cost in Ireland?
The simple answer is that pricing varies based on several factors.
The location, size of the project, time of year, weather, airspace, and surrounding areas, such as roads and building structures, can all affect pricing. We consider all these and provide a custom price per job based on these variables.
Drone Services Ireland is recognised as one of Ireland’s leading drone survey companies, providing the highest quality digital aerial surveys. We provide data-only collection services for many companies that process their own data, or we can do that for you as part of the deliverables.
We have spent thousands of hours perfecting our workflows and have heavily invested in the latest hardware and software to provide you with the best drone land surveying solutions in the country.
Adding high-precision GPS or an RTK/PPK solution increases overall accuracy. Survey ground control points (GCPs) can be input to orthorectify the image and verify its accuracy when used as checkpoints.
We use a combination of RTK and PPK workflows, depending on conditions such as mobile data coverage on the project and use the most suitable workflow. We cater to sites of all sizes, ranging from a few acres to hundreds of hectares. We price accordingly; the more significant the drone survey, the more time and processing will be involved.
This highly detailed output is accurate regarding global position and elevation, and it can be output in local coordinate systems such as the Irish Transverse Mercator (IRENET95) and Malin Head vertical datum.
What is the accuracy of drone surveys?
We have conducted numerous aerial photogrammetric surveys, spending hundreds of hours in the field, at the computer, and collaborating with experts to deliver survey-grade results through our workflows. We have worked with surveyors and have in-house surveyors who verify the work we complete. We achieve <5cm accuracy in X, Y, and Z coordinates.
Why are our drone surveys more expensive than those of other operators?
Recent regulation changes have significantly impacted some operators, and regulators are clamping down more on illegal drone operations that put people at risk. Many factors and planning are involved in drone surveys, and we continuously operate safely, only taking on jobs we know we can complete.
We utilise the latest aerial survey equipment to deliver high-quality data. Stay tuned to our blog for updates on our services and equipment.
Another reason we may seem more expensive is that we process the data ourselves. Many drone operators send the data to a cloud processing service and then send the outputs to the client. We manually process and verify the data through our established workflows to ensure the delivery of high-quality, accurate data.
We do not use cloud-based data processing; your data is securely stored and processed locally.
We are always fair in our pricing and are happy to discuss if you receive a cheaper quote. We offer discounts on ongoing work or for repeat customers. We are professional drone operators operating in the EASA Specific Category, which enables us to undertake more complex projects that others may not be able to complete legally.
What are the limitations of drone surveying?
In Ireland, drone surveying has two main limitations: airspace restrictions and weather. In nearly all cases, we can apply for permission to fly in restricted areas; mother nature is something we cannot control.
Wind and rain are the two main issues, but a low-cloud base can also be challenging. While our cutting-edge equipment can fly in 15m/s winds, the data quality may be affected, and we won’t take the chance on that. Also, while nadir data capture is standard for drone surveying, if raindrops get on the lens, again, the data quality is compromised.
We plan our jobs when we can safely capture the best quality data.
Can you provide a UAV drone survey?
Yes, we can provide a UAV drone survey. Our drone services are available for projects of all sizes, including topographical mapping, 3D modelling, elevation/contour data, and orthomosaic imagery. We use the latest aerial survey equipment to ensure our data is of the highest quality and accuracy.
What projection will my data be in?
Unless otherwise advised, we produce all our survey deliverables in IRENET95 projection with Malin head vertical datum. EPSG 2157
Where do we operate?
We operate nationwide, both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. We provide Drone and Aerial Surveying services in the country’s largest cities, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Sligo. Mayo has been one of our busiest locations for large surveys in recent years.
How long does a 50-hectare drone survey take
A typical 50-hectare survey will take 1/2 a day to complete the data capture. By the time we arrive on-site, we have already completed our mission planning and GCP layout, so the time spent on-site is reduced. Based on typical survey deliverables, the results would be available by the end of the next working day: total time, 1-2 days.
What weather conditions cancel drone surveys?
Rain and Strong Winds would be the main reasons for a survey being cancelled. Although the drone can tolerate the wind, the quality of the data collected can be compromised, and we won’t compromise on data quality. The winds at ground level are not the same as the winds at 100m, so we plan and adjust for the conditions.
Do I need planning permission for drone surveys?
No, you do not need planning permission for a drone survey. Drones Surveys are often used in the planning permission process, to speed up the data capture, especially on larger sites but planning is not required for a standard drone survey.