Aerial surveys, mapping and monitoring.
Procurement-grade survey data for civil engineering, construction, energy and land. Pick the output you need or the goal you have, captured to a stated specification and exported straight into your CAD, GIS and BIM stack.
Survey-grade
data from
the air.
Drone surveying gives you the speed and access of aerial capture at the precision of traditional ground methods. Where a ground team needs weeks of access, road closures and risk assessments, a drone captures the same site in hours, at a density no walking surveyor can match.
Every project is planned backwards from the deliverable, and to a stated specification. We agree the accuracy class, the coordinate system, the ground-control strategy and the output formats before we mobilise, so the data lands in your workflow without rework and stands up to checking.
Overlapping imagery · textured, photorealistic
- Best for open ground, surfaces, facades and visual context
- Produces orthomosaics, textured meshes and dense colour point clouds
- Lower cost where vegetation and tree cover are light
Pulsed laser · penetrates vegetation
- Best for woodland, flood modelling, complex terrain and low light
- Returns the true ground surface beneath vegetation as a classified cloud
- Captured alongside RGB on the DJI Zenmuse L2 in a single flight
The full
breakdown.
Grouped by what you get. Every output can be delivered mapping-grade or survey-grade, in the formats your software expects.
Mapping & terrain
Topographic survey
Contours, levels, spot heights and break-lines for design and planning.
DWG · DXF · LandXMLOrthomosaic / orthophoto
A geo-referenced, measurable photo-map of the whole site at your chosen GSD.
GeoTIFF · web mapDTM / DSM / DEM & contours
Bare-earth terrain and full-surface models with generated contours.
GeoTIFF · DWGVolumetric / stockpile
Cut-and-fill and stockpile volumes with a documented measurement method.
PDF · CSV3D & reality capture
Photogrammetry mesh
Textured, photorealistic 3D models for visualisation and measurement.
OBJ · FBXLiDAR & point cloud
Classified point clouds, including true ground beneath vegetation.
LAS · LAZ · E57BIM-ready / scan-to-BIM
Registered clouds and meshes for Revit and as-built verification against design.
RCP · RCS · IFCSpecialist layers & data
Thermal / multispectral
Radiometric thermal and vegetation indices for anomaly and condition work.
GeoTIFF · reportCorridor mapping
Linear capture for rail, highway, pipeline and utility routes.
GeoTIFF · LASAsset & infrastructure mapping
Located, attributed records of site assets and features.
GIS layersGIS data capture & integration
Layers built to drop straight into your existing GIS.
SHP · GeoPackageThe site,
tracked
over time.
Some sites need one survey. Others need the same survey repeated, so you can see what changed. Scheduled monitoring captures a site on a repeating cycle and reports each round against the last baseline.
Construction / progress monitoring
Dated orthomosaics and models across a build, for programme and records.
per cycleEarthworks cut-and-fill tracking
Volumes tracked between visits to reconcile movement and valuation.
per cycleChange detection
Surface and feature change measured and flagged between captures.
per cyclePeriodic asset & environmental monitoring
Scheduled capture of assets, vegetation, coastline or restoration sites.
retainerWhich survey
do I need?
Start from the goal, not the jargon. Tell us the outcome and we scope the right output and accuracy grade.
Surveyed to
a spec, not
a guess.
What no drone operator should leave you to assume, and what a procurement team needs on file.
Standards
RICS-aligned methodology and a survey specification agreed before capture.
Coordinate systems
OSGB36 / British National Grid via OSTN15, or ETRS89, to suit your design environment.
Accuracy & control
RTK / PPK with distributed GCPs to ±2cm; independent check points held back for QA.
Documentation
Signed methodology statement, accuracy report and full deliverable formats listed below.
Buy the
accuracy you
actually need.
The most common way to over-spend is paying for survey-grade control on a job that only needed a map. We tell you which grade fits.
GSD 1 to 3 cm/px · geo-referenced
- Site overview, planning context and visual records
- Orthomosaic, DSM and 3D model without full ground control
- Faster and lower cost where ±2cm is not required
±2 cm · RTK / PPK + GCP · checked
- Design, setting-out, volumetrics, BIM and engineering records
- Full ground control, independent check points and accuracy report
- Delivered on OSGB36 / BNG, ready for your CAD or BIM model
It drops into
your stack.
We export to the formats your engineering, GIS and BIM teams already use.
CAD & mapping
DWG, DXF, LandXML and GeoTIFF, with an interactive web map.
Point clouds & meshes
Classified LAS, LAZ, E57 and OBJ, FBX, RCP for Revit and Civil 3D.
GIS layers
Shapefile and GeoPackage layers ready for your GIS environment.
Reports & evidence
Volumetric and monitoring reports, accuracy statement and methodology.
What it
looks like.
Representative deliverables. Real, project-specific samples available on request.
Buyers
and sectors.
Civil engineers, AEC consultancies, contractors, quarry and waste operators, environmental teams and asset managers.
What you'll
actually pay.
Priced by grade and output so you can see where you sit. Final quote is scoped per engagement.
| Tier | For | From |
|---|---|---|
| Mapping-grade | Orthomosaic and visual mapping, overview and records | £600 |
| Survey-grade | Topographic and volumetric, RTK/GCP to ±2cm, for design | £950 |
| LiDAR / point cloud / BIM / thermal | Vegetation, as-built, scan-to-BIM and anomaly work | £1,200 |
| Scheduled monitoring | Progress, change detection and periodic capture | £600/visit + £400–£600 retainer |
Detailed ranges: topographic £950–£1,800 (5 to 10 ha), £1,800–£3,500 (10 to 50 ha), £3,500+ beyond; orthomosaic £600–£1,400; volumetric £800–£1,500; thermal £1,200–£2,800; BIM point-cloud export £400–£900 add-on. Final quote scoped per engagement. More in the FAQ.
Earthworks volumes on a live construction site.
A contractor needed independent cut and fill volumes to settle a disputed earthworks valuation, without stopping site operations.
A referenced point cloud and a methodology statement gave the commercial team numbers they could stand behind in the valuation.
De-risked
delivery.
Qualify us once, then deploy us across the programme.
Insurance
Public liability per project to £5m or £10m. Professional indemnity on survey outputs.
Accreditation
CAA Operational Authorisation, SORA-current procedures, supplier-portal qualification supported.
Data handling
UK GDPR-compliant, with secure transfer and retention. NDAs and white-label supported.
Social value
Quantified TOMs evidence through the SBS Foundation (CIO).
Aerial survey
Q&A.
More in the FAQ hub.
Mapping-grade is a geo-referenced visual deliverable (an orthomosaic or DSM) for overview, planning and records, captured without the full ground-control overhead and so at lower cost. Survey-grade adds RTK/PPK positioning and distributed ground control points to reach ±2cm, which design, earthworks, volumetrics and BIM coordination require. We confirm which grade your project needs at proposal stage.
With RTK GNSS and properly distributed ground control points we achieve ±2cm horizontal and vertical, delivered on OSGB36 / British National Grid via OSTN15, or ETRS89, to suit your design environment. Independent check points are held back for QA and reported in the methodology statement.
Photogrammetry builds 3D models from overlapping photographs, giving dense, textured outputs that suit open ground and surfaces. LiDAR uses a pulsed laser, penetrates vegetation and works in low light, producing classified point clouds that suit woodland, flood modelling and complex terrain. The DJI Zenmuse L2 captures both at once in a single flight.
Yes. Point clouds are delivered classified in LAS, LAZ or E57; meshes as OBJ, FBX, RCP or RCS for Revit, AutoCAD and Civil 3D; mapping as GeoTIFF, DWG, DXF and LandXML; and GIS layers as shapefile or GeoPackage. We also produce scan-to-BIM coordination and as-built verification against design models.
Yes. Scheduled monitoring captures a site on a repeating cycle for construction progress, earthworks cut-and-fill tracking, change detection and periodic asset or environmental monitoring. It runs on a per-visit fee plus a retainer, with each round reported against the previous baseline.