Now is a special time for geospatial service providers. Many call it as important a time in the history of geospatial technology as the introduction of geographic information systems (GIS). Arguably, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and 3D data acquisition tools are undergoing some of the most notable innovations, impacting aerial surveyors and mappers most.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) projects that drones will have an economic impact of $82 billion by the year 2025. According to the most recent POB Laser Scanning Surveying Trends study, 19 percent of respondents reported using UAS in 2015, compared to 38 percent in 2016. Over the same time period, the use of photogrammetric cameras slightly decreased by 9 percentage points, and the use of laser scanning/imaging tools increased by 5 percentage points. While aerial LiDAR use dropped from 33 percent to 18 percent, 69 percent of respondents to the 2016 study report that demand for laser scanning has increased. Read the full article
