I notice the operator cited the oft misunderstood 400' height! For all the hype in the mags of late, a drone is still a NO GO for ANY commercial use in the USA and it seems the FAA is grounding all they hear about.
SHG
Gavin, agreed! I read some of the comments in the linked article, the masses want drones and they want them now for all kinds of tasks, the heck with FAA regs and by extension PLS laws, technology is way ahead of the rules and regs.
I do believe that there will be tons of folks flying these when green lighted and I don't think for a second that surveyors / mappers will be the biggest users, technology is driving the marketplace, not PLS licensing laws, my take is within the next generation surveyors will only be relegated to boundary by law, not to say they can't do some of these other things, but I don't feel technology / licensing laws are going to hold the masses back and keep mapping drones for instance only in the domain of licensed surveyors / mappers, licensed pilots may be all that will be required, if that.
I also believe that within a couple of generations even boundary work for the most part will be much more a do it yourself project, when a GIS cadastral layer that is accurate is in place and everyone has a cell phone and app that is good autonomous to a few cm, there will be no need for a surveyor to locate lot lines for fences, etc. Of course there may still need to be a surveyor for things like platting, etc., but as technology moves forward less and less historic surveying tasks will solely be the domain of the surveyor.
I know I may have an unpopular opinion, BUT I simply don't think we need as many surveyors as we did even 20-30 years ago and I see no reversal in that trend.
SHG
You have said
a lot. And I have to agree with pretty much all your vision. 🙁 I am one of the lucky ones to have worked in the golden age spanning chain/transit all the way through to RTK and robotics. It's too bad that things are heading the way they are but I agree that the trends are pretty much not going to reverse or even hold steady. This should be an interesting thread.
I have always respected land surveyors because of their innovation. True, you cannot use the
drone for commercial use so use it for personal use. Buy the beer by credit card. Then send
YOUR drone to land at the beer store. It is your beer. Commercial use involves money changing
hands. Since it is your beer, pick it up and take it home.
Do not like the 'commercial' word, then make it personal. You can fly your own plane. You are not
selling the beer. Just enjoy it.
