Drones

Uncrewed aerial vehicles. UAVs. Drones. They’re more than a trend; they’re transforming industries at lightning speed. Why? Because drones give us superpowers: The power to inspect damaged or incomplete structures without risking injury. The precision to capture high-resolution images and video of the tiniest details and large-scale damage in areas that were once out of reach. The ability to see in infrared. Drones are ready for action in minutes and can reduce costs by up to 80% compared to conventional inspection methods – delivering superspeed and super savings.

What Can Drones Do for You?
Drones are revolutionizing how we capture, assess, and analyze buildings and structures. Their high-resolution imagery and video open up countless possibilities:

• Comprehensive building assessments. Document complete building exteriors and infrastructure for thorough condition evaluations.
• Detailed inspections. Zoom in on small- or large-scale issues to take high-quality close-ups and video footage.
• Capture every angle. View buildings from inside, outside and above, including difficult or otherwise unreachable areas, ensuring thorough inspections.
• AI-powered damage detection. Use advanced computer vision apps like T2D2 to detect, classify and track structural or façade damage.
• Precision modeling. Create 2D and 3D photogrammetric models, orthomosaics, and elevation and plan views for BIM modeling in programs like Revit.
• Infrared imaging. Identify thermal issues like energy loss, façade delamination, insulation gaps and water leakage.
• Emergency response. Be on-site in minutes to collect forensic evidence and document hazardous or unstable structures without compromising staff safety.
• Cost efficiency. Cut costs by reducing the need for frequent site visits, scaffolding and other traditional inspection methods.
• Support construction and demolition. Monitor project progress, ensuring compliance with plans and timelines.
• Renewal. Record structure details, aiding the accuracy of historic preservations. Generate 3D models for planning and provide critical data for conserving materials.
• Forensic investigation. Gather critical evidence during fire response, CAT response, building collapse and other catastrophic events.

Above: A Church in Southern Maine. We used drone photogrammetry to create a point cloud, a 3D model of the structure, and high-quality orthomosaic images of each elevation. The orthomosaic images were used to create repair drawings annotated by our in-house restoration experts. A local contractor will complete the work and help preserve the structure for future generations.

Why Choose Thornton Tomasetti?
To reap all the benefits of using drones, you need a partner with the knowledge, access, licenses, skills, resources and influence to get the job done right. Our diverse staff of highly trained engineers, architects and building experts ensures that we capture the right images and extract all crucial data from them, and that our analyses are comprehensive and precise.

We’re experts at manually controlling drone flights or using flight automation software to collect consistent, uniform images. Our more than 40 pilots, across 15 U.S. offices, are authorized to operate in any state. And all Thornton Tomasetti UAV pilots are licensed under FAA Part 107. 

Our years of experience, as well as our familiarity with local agencies and practices, mean that we’re often able to secure waivers to operate in restricted areas like the space around airports. And we have liability insurance to cover all aspects of drone operation.

Why wait? Contact any member of our team to find out how Thornton Tomasetti can get you airborne!