March 2026 Magazine - Flipbook - Page 22
TECH TALK
Designing
UAS
Workflow:
Accuracy, Responsibility, and the Mixed
Commercial Lifecycle
By Joshua R. Adams, SIT & JT Truong, RPLS
Technology continues to reshape land surveying, but your professional obligation remains
constant. As you integrate new tools into practice, you must clearly define their purpose, verify
data, and uphold the standard of care expected of Texas surveyors. The effectiveness of
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is never determined by the hardware alone, but by the
discipline of the workflow you design. Regardless of the platform or the project's scale, your
responsibility to deliver accurate work is based upon your professional opinion as a Licensed
Professional. In this Tech Talk, we examine how disciplined UAS workflows can support
defensible deliverables throughout the mixed commercial project lifecycle. - JT Truong
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are now common tools on mixed commercial
developments across Texas, supporting projects from initial mapping through phased
construction verification. What has not changed is the surveyor9s responsibility to deliver
accurate, defensible work consistent with the standard of care.
Before deployment, surveyors must define the intended purpose of the data. Broad predevelopment mapping, drainage analysis in vegetated corridors, and construction verification
each demand different levels of control, documentation, and review.
In large pre-development environments, UAS LiDAR can efficiently capture terrain conditions
that support engineering design. Thorough mission planning—including obstacle review,
airspace compliance, segmentation of flight areas, and environmental considerations—reduces
risk before the aircraft leaves the ground. Technology improves coverage; planning preserves
validity.
20 March 2026 | THE TEXAS SURVEYOR
As projects transition into grading and
underground installation, the surveyor9s role
shifts toward verification. Engineers and
owners increasingly request confirmation that
pads, roads, and drainage features align with
design intent. UAS platforms enable
repeatable data capture that supports surface
comparisons and volume analysis, creating
reliable 8snapshots in time9 that assist project
management.
Verification requires independent checks.
Ground truth observations—whether GNSS or
robotic total station—must be compared
against derived surfaces. Points-to-surface
quality checks help confirm whether the
model performs within expectations for its
intended use.
