Opportunities for UAV’s in construction planning, performing and contract close-out

Quadcopter drones and other unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAV’s) have become common-place and their use is widespread among consumers and professionals in numerous industries. Aerial imagery and video can provide useful perspectives and have great value in communicating progress, for use in documentation of site activity and for use in marketing services. Drones, either through imagery or LIDAR, can further provide quick and accurate surveying information, which is valuable for positioning of facilities and activities. LIDAR data can also be used effectively for quality control and for quantity measurement. Imagery also has further applications in safety evaluation, productivity improvement, security and real-time job-site monitoring. Such additional uses have the potential for making a real impact on successful project delivery while increasing and competitiveness. Progressive construction companies and service providers throughout the globe recognize this potential and see significant promise for tangible return on investment. This paper will evaluate these opportunities for quadcopters and other UAV’s based on experiences of the authors in using drones in Dubai and in the United States. The examination concludes with evaluation of the opportunities and avenues for research using UAV’s. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Diamond Congress Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2018.