According to projections by Goldman Sachs, construction is poised to become the world’s leading user of commercial drones in the next five years. As with many technological advancements, the main benefit of drones promises to be their ability to do the job of a labor force quicker and more accurately.
“Drones are enabling contractors to attain on-demand aerial views of job sites, real-time measurements of distance, area, and stockpile volume, as well as the creation of rich interactive maps,” said Mike Winn, CEO and cofounder of DroneDeploy, in a recent article from Construction Today. “The result is tracking job progress, identifying location of equipment, and measurement of volumes of materials is being done within minutes or hours instead of days and weeks.”
These aerial perspectives could also help determine whether work is being performed safely, with quality and in compliance with all regulations. Typically, contractors employ helicopter pilots to do these jobs, which can be very expensive. If drones were to take over, they could save time and money.
In the future, drones may even be able to haul cargo, carrying small parts and handheld tools across job sites or to high places.
