A DRONE‘S-EYE VIEW

Faculty and students have used drones to inspect a 27-storey building, to monitor the progress of a massive construction project, and to map a forestry plot.

Drones are a disruptive technology across a range of applications, says Richard Borger, a professor in Building and Construction Sciences. Mohawk helps its industry partners learn about and adapt the use of drones for their needs, he says.

“There are so many opportunities for us. As our use cases grow, the projects will, too.”

Mohawk is the only educational institution in eastern Canada with drone-mounted LIDAR to measure distances precisely using lasers. 

Inspecting the structural envelope of a commercial building in the traditional way means dropping inspectors over the side to take photos and samples. It can take a day to cover 10 to 15 per cent of a building at a cost of several thousand dollars.

Drones can cover the same building in an hour at a fraction of the cost.

Matt Charbonneau, a project manager at Edison Engineers, says its partnership with Mohawk showed drones will be a useful tool to help clients boost energy efficiency.

“Mohawk has been our resource for choosing the best drones and cameras, configuring the equipment for our needs, and coordinating with authorities.”

Page 18 - Spring 2019 Momentum

https://www.mohawknewsdesk.ca/momentum-magazine-spring-2019/