Drone mapping. Survey-grade orthomosaic from the air.
Orbital produces high-resolution aerial mapping and orthomosaic deliverables across South East Queensland. Captured from a UAV, georeferenced with surveyed ground control to GDA2020 Zone 56, and integrated with our locating, survey and point cloud work so the aerial view is part of a coordinated spatial deliverable — not just a photo.
What drone mapping delivers
A drone mapping job produces several distinct outputs from the same flight, depending on what the project needs:
Orthomosaic
A geometrically corrected aerial photograph of the entire site, stitched from hundreds of overlapping drone photographs and georeferenced to your project coordinate system. Unlike a raw aerial photo, an orthomosaic is dimensionally accurate — features have correct relative positions and scale, so the image can sit underneath your CAD plan as a survey-grade base map.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and contours
Same flight, additional output: terrain elevation across the site at sub-metre resolution, deliverable as contour lines, hillshade rendering, or raw DEM raster for civil engineering software. Useful for earthworks, drainage design, site grading and volumetric calculations.
Volumetric calculations
Stockpile volumes, cut-and-fill estimates, before-and-after comparison for earthworks. The drone capture turns into measurable engineering data.
Point cloud (optional)
Where the brief calls for full 3D capture rather than just plan-view orthomosaic, the same flight feeds a 3D point cloud. See our Point Cloud & 3D Mesh Capture page for the full point cloud capability.
How we capture — equipment, method, compliance
Equipment
Professional-grade UAV with high-resolution photogrammetry-capable camera. Flight planning and capture executed to a discipline that produces survey-grade output, not consumer-grade overflight photography.
CASA compliance
All drone operations are conducted in compliance with CASA regulations for commercial UAV work in Australia. We operate within visual line of sight, below 120m AGL by default, and outside controlled airspace except where authorised. Larger or non-standard scopes are flown under appropriate operating approvals; we handle the compliance side as part of the engagement.
Ground control
Surveyed ground control points captured to GDA2020 Zone 56 with our GNSS RTK kit before the flight, providing the survey-grade reference frame that the resulting orthomosaic and DEM are tied to. This is the difference between a drone photograph and a survey-grade drone deliverable — the ground control.
Processing pipeline
Photogrammetry processing produces the orthomosaic, DEM and (where requested) point cloud. Quality control runs against the ground control accuracy budget; deliverables are checked against survey reference before release.
Where drone mapping earns its place
Civil and construction documentation
Pre-construction site capture, monthly progress aerials, post-construction completion documentation. The orthomosaic becomes the site’s visual record across the project lifecycle.
Earthworks and volumetric work
Stockpile measurement, cut-and-fill quantity verification, before-and-after volumetric comparison. Faster, safer and more accurate than ground-based measurement, particularly on large or hazardous sites.
Planning and design context
Architects and engineers benefit from a survey-grade aerial as the base map for new design work. Orthomosaic shows what’s actually there — buildings, vegetation, surfaces — at scale, in colour, in the correct coordinate system.
Integrated with underground service locating
Where the project includes both above and below ground work, the drone orthomosaic provides the visual context that ties the locating deliverable to the real site. Located services drawn on top of the orthomosaic make the deliverable readable to non-technical stakeholders — councils, asset owners, residents.
Asset condition and inspection
Roof inspection, infrastructure assessment, condition documentation. Visual capture from angles that ground-based inspection can’t reach.
Integration with the rest of our service stack
Drone mapping is part of our spatial-intelligence stack rather than a standalone aerial photography service. Common combined scopes:
- Underground service locating + drone orthomosaic — surface aerial with located services drawn on top.
- Drone mapping + topographic survey — combined aerial + ground-based capture for full site terrain modelling.
- Drone mapping + point cloud — same flight, both 2D plan-view orthomosaic and 3D point cloud delivered.
- AS 5488 + drone mapping — for project sites where the subsurface utility engineering work is being delivered against an aerial context base map.
The integrated stack delivers one coordinate system, one project lead, one CAD package.
Why Orbital for drone mapping
Twenty-three years of survey-grade spatial work in South East Queensland gives us something most pure-drone-operator businesses lack — the survey discipline that makes a drone capture into engineering-grade data, rather than just an aerial photograph. We treat the drone as one of several sensors feeding the project’s spatial deliverable, alongside EMF, GPR, total station and GNSS RTK.
Our drone work is integrated with the locating and survey deliverables on the same project. One coordinator, one coordinate system, one set of records. Where the project also needs vacuum excavation, Vac2U is coordinated through us on the same engagement.
Frequently asked questions
Is a drone orthomosaic the same as a Google Earth image?
No. A Google Earth or generic aerial photo is captured at a specific time, processed for visual consistency, and has no defined coordinate accuracy. An Orbital orthomosaic is captured to the date your project needs, processed against ground control points surveyed at the time, and delivered with stated coordinate accuracy in GDA2020 Zone 56. It can sit underneath a CAD plan as a survey-grade base map; a Google Earth image cannot.
How accurate is the orthomosaic?
With surveyed ground control points, typical accuracy is centimetre-scale across the captured area. Specific accuracy is quoted with the scope and confirmed against the ground control after processing. Where higher accuracy is needed on specific features, we combine the drone capture with terrestrial total station survey of those features.
Do you handle CASA approvals?
Yes — for our standard commercial drone scopes (below 120m AGL, daylight, outside controlled airspace) we operate under our standing approvals. For non-standard scopes, controlled airspace, or larger areas requiring beyond-visual-line-of-sight authorisation, we manage the compliance application as part of the engagement and price it into the scope.
Can I get just an aerial photo without the survey work?
Yes — single-flight aerial documentation is a small-scope service we offer for clients who don’t need survey-grade processing. But for most engineering, civil and architectural use, the survey-grade orthomosaic is the better deliverable and only marginally more expensive once the flight is already happening.
How quickly can you get on site?
Weather permitting, typically within 5–10 business days for standard scopes in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast catchments. Urgent jobs are flown sooner where the weather and operating conditions allow. Larger or complex scopes need longer for planning and CASA coordination.
What’s the cost?
Per scope. Variables: site size, deliverable formats, ground control density, integration with other Orbital services. Send us the brief and a site address; we’ll come back with a fixed-price quote, usually within 48 hours.
Related services
- Point cloud capture (3D from the same flight)
- Topographic and contour survey
- Underground service locating
- AS 5488 Subsurface Utility Engineering
Send us the site.
Tell us where, how big, and what you need the deliverable for. We’ll come back with a fixed-price scope, weather-realistic mobilisation date, and confirmation of any integration with locating, survey or point cloud work.