{"id":708382,"date":"2024-10-21T12:59:15","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T19:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcwatch&p=708382"},"modified":"2024-11-04T09:54:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T17:54:46","slug":"drone-imagery-guides-campus-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"arcwatch","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcwatch\/drone-imagery-guides-campus-maintenance","title":{"rendered":"Drone Imagery Guides Campus Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9862,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[425602],"tags":[425592,490182,470251,475672],"arcwatch_issues":[490522],"class_list":["post-708382","arcwatch","type-arcwatch","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-imagery-2","tag-arcgis-experience-builder","tag-arcgis-flight","tag-drone-imagery","tag-site-scan-for-arcgis","arcwatch_issues-october-2024"],"acf":{"short_description":"A university facilities services department used drone imagery to identify areas that required maintenance or further inspection.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Drones have many uses on academic campuses, including research, maintenance, inspection, and certification training. But campus drone use can present challenges, including ones related to liability and privacy concerns.\r\n\r\nThe facilities services department at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, faced these issues and more. One complication was a construction site, where union rules prohibited drone use. Another complication was related to some local residents whose presence results in an ongoing no-drone zone: peregrine falcons, including one known as Annie that has nested on the university\u2019s bell tower since late 2016.\r\n\r\nDespite these issues, a drone operator from Esri\u2019s Berkeley R&D office was able to fly a drone over parts of the campus, with the images later processed by the Esri team using ArcGIS. The results allowed facilities services staff to identify areas requiring maintenance and further inspection, explore integration with their current asset-management system, and make the campus safer\u2014all while laying the groundwork for future drone imagery projects.\r\n\r\nSuggesting a Proof-of-Concept<\/strong>\r\n\r\nUC Berkeley\u2019s facilities services department\u2019s responsibilities range from managing custodial services to maintaining hundreds of buildings and other structures across the campus. Within this department is a GIS, mapping, and drawing group that is responsible for mapping the campus\u2019s built environment, according to Maianna Voge, the group\u2019s supervisor.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe map the campus landscape, maintain floorplans for nearly 200 structures, and maintain a collection of campus drawings,\u201d she said, adding that UC Berkeley has an aging campus with a lot of ongoing maintenance needs.\r\n\r\nSo when Esri suggested conducting a proof-of-concept drone flight to gather high-resolution images of campus rooftops, Voge had a few reservations about the idea. She noted that no one at the department had previously considered using high-resolution images of rooftops. The flight was seen by her team as an experimental approach to gathering campus imagery.\r\n\r\n\u201cI was skeptical of the concept, although I knew that using drones is easier and safer than putting a human up on a roof,\u201d Voge said. \u201cI figured it would be valuable, but I was concerned about the frequency needed for drone flights. There are all kinds of drone restrictions here\u2014and we don\u2019t want to be the people who take down the beloved UC Berkeley peregrine falcons.\u201d\r\n\r\nAlso, the UC Center of Excellence on Unmanned Aircraft System Safety has a lot of rules and requirements, Voge noted, adding that the drone flight had to be scheduled around campus events, including football games and political protests.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere were a lot of boxes to check,\u201d she said. \u201cWe wound up doing the flight on a Monday during spring break,\u201d which kept the rest of the week available in case of adverse weather or other delays."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":708552,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A Successful Experiment<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAn Esri-certified drone operator planned and managed the flight using ArcGIS Flight<\/a>. The Esri team then stitched the photos together using Esri\u2019s photogrammetry software, Site Scan for ArcGIS<\/a>, which allowed for flexible processing in the cloud and creation of imagery products using solutions such as True Orthophotos<\/a>, digital surface models<\/a>, point clouds<\/a>, and 3D meshes<\/a>. Esri staff then embedded the imagery products into ArcGIS Experience Builder, with features such as orthomosaics, 3D textured meshes, and an oriented imagery viewer\u2013used for later review by the facilities services department and other drone stakeholders at the university.\r\n\r\nThe drone imagery helped facilities services staff quickly identify a potential safety hazard\u2014a section of roof flashing that had become completely detached. And on another building, staff noted that some building materials had been left behind in some hard-to-reach areas.\r\n\r\n\u201cI was pleasantly surprised by the results of this flight,\u201d Voge said. But the flight would have been considered a success even without this accomplishment, she added."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":708582,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cIt sounds like a low bar,\u201d Voge explained, \u201cbut just flying a drone over the campus and nothing going wrong was a win. We now know that it can be done safely. In the end it was low effort for high reward.\u201d\r\n\r\nAdditional Drone Projects Possible<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe project\u2019s success led to plans for more drone flights and potential student involvement. Facilities services staff plan to repeat the flights annually, and staff in other university departments, including faculty and graduate students, have expressed interest in using drones for academic research and sustainability projects. Other potential uses include surveying rooftop equipment as well as enhancing fire prevention and mitigation, as the UC Berkeley campus extends into forested hills.\r\n\r\n\u201cCollaboration for other projects is going to require a lot of planning and effort,\u201d Voge said, \u201cBut we\u2019ve seen this beautiful proof of concept, and I\u2019m optimistic that more drone-supported GIS projects can succeed and provide value here.\u201d\r\n\r\nAdditional Information<\/strong>\r\n