Drone Mapping and Modeling Pro
Take your drone mapping and 3D modeling skills to the next level.
Ready to take your fundamental drone mapping and modeling knowledge to new heights?
Then this is the course for you.
In this pro-level course, you'll learn how to create advanced maps and 3D models that will help you solve your clients' biggest challenges.
If you’ve already completed our Drone Mapping and Modeling Fundamentals course, you have a great understanding of what drone maps and models are, and how to create them.
In that course, we taught you how to collect data, create orthomosaic maps and 2D models, and analyze your findings.
But what if you want to land larger, more profitable contracts with companies that need an expert drone pilot to provide them with more advanced-level, 3-dimensional maps and models?
In the Drone Mapping and Modeling Pro course, you’ll learn how to create more complex maps and 3D models. These new maps and models will be able to analyze different types of data for the various clients you may work with down the road.
The Pro course will give you firsthand experience creating 2.5-dimensional and 3-dimensional maps and models, which will allow you to provide your clients with important data, including elevation data.
Why do you need to learn these more advanced mapping and modeling skills?
The drone maps and models you’ll learn how to create will provide your clients with quicker, more efficient, and more accurate data than traditional, manual mapping and modeling techniques. (Plus, it’s way safer!)
The data that you’ll be able to collect, process, and analyze will wow your clients.
The actionable reports you provide your clients with will help them solve their biggest challenges.
Once you know how to create these 2.5- and 3-dimensional maps and models, you’ll be able to confidently take on bigger and more profitable jobs and contracts with important clients.
Because of all the increased efficiency and accuracy that drone maps and models provide, skilled drone mapping and modeling pros are in high demand.
And because of this, the mapping and modeling niche is the #1 niche where drone pilots are making $100K+/year.
(droneanalyst.com)
So what's the best way to learn these mapping and modeling skills?
Well, who better to learn from than someone who creates advanced-level drone maps and models on a daily basis?
Hey, I'm Rut. I'm the president of Voyager, an engineering company that uses drones to create maps and models for businesses across the United States.
I'm one of the instructors of this course.
You may remember me from the Drone Mapping and Modeling Fundamentals course, or the Drone Business Mastery program.
If you don’t recognize me, here’s a quick recap of my story…
I moved from India to the US in 2015.
When I got here, I worked two jobs to make ends meet. I worked at Dairy Queen during the day and at a warehouse at night.
And on top of all of that, I was trying to learn how to speak English.
I always knew that I wanted to start my own business, but first I needed to save up enough money to get started.
As I was driving home from my night shift at the warehouse one morning, I was listening to a podcast about Captain Cortés. He burned his ships to keep his army from retreating. He told them that if they went back, it would be in the enemy’s ships.
After hearing that, I knew that I needed to go all in with my business.
I “burned my boats” by quitting both of my jobs so I could spend my time focusing on building my business.
I had a drone and a bit of money saved up.
First, I started out in the real estate industry. But I knew that I didn’t want to do that forever.
I really wanted to use drones to help my clients solve bigger, more complex problems.
Eventually, I started looking for drone work in the construction industry.
I knew that a lot of people would probably say no at first… but if I could understand their biggest challenges and figure out how I could use drones to solve them, I knew I could convince someone to give me a chance.
One of the challenges that stood out to me was that construction companies were hiring expensive planes and helicopters to get aerial footage of their projects so they could see their progress. I knew that my drone services would save them tons of money. So, I offered to take progress photos of their site twice a month for $1,000/month. They saw what a huge savings that would be for them, so they decided to hire me.
Once I started working with construction companies, I realized that there were more challenges that drones could help them overcome.
My innovative thinking not only landed me more work, but it also helped my clients get truly effective solutions to their problems.
As I continued to gain more experience in the construction industry, I started working with companies in other industries, like energy, infrastructure, and agriculture.
I’m always looking for ways to help my clients operate more efficiently. This mindset has helped me to build strong relationships with many businesses and land important mapping and modeling contacts.
Over the past few years, I’ve been able to take Voyager from a one-man business to a 6-figure company with a team of employees. We help companies all of over the country get the accurate and detailed data they need to operate more smoothly and efficiently.
I teamed up with Drone Launch Academy to create this pro-level course so that you can have success with drone mapping and modeling, too!
Welcome to Drone Mapping and Modeling Pro!
In this course, you'll build upon the foundation you built in our Drone Mapping and Modeling Fundamentals course. You'll learn the knowledge and skills you'll need to complete important mapping and modeling jobs with companies that need a skilled drone pilot (like you!) to help them overcome their most challenging obstacles.
Here’s what’s in the course...
Intro to DSMs & Contour Maps
- What DSMs and contour maps are,
- The benefits of providing DSMs and contour maps for your clients,
- The software you’ll need to create DSMs and contour maps, and
- An introduction to your DSM/contour map mock project, which will give you the opportunity to get firsthand experience creating a DSM and contour map.
Data collection for DSMs & Contour Maps
- What Ground Control Points (GCPs) are and why you need them,
- How to create a flight plan,
- How to set up your GCPs,
- How to actually fly your mission,
- How to conduct a post-flight image review, and
- The data you’ll need to complete your DSM/contour map mock project.
Data processing for DSMs & Contour Maps
- How to create a Pix4D account, and
- How to upload your data into Pix4D for processing.
Data analysis for DSMs & Contour Maps
- How to analyze your DSM in Pix4D,
- How to analyze your DSM in QGIS,
- How to use QGIS to generate and analyze contour maps, and
- How to use AutoCAD to analyze your contour maps.
Intro to 3D Models
- What a 3D model is and why they’re helpful to your clients,
- What software you’ll need to create 3D models,
- The difference between Dense Point Cloud and 3D Mesh, and
- An overview of your 3D model mock project.
Data collection for 3D Models
- How to create a flight plan and fly your mission,
- How to manually capture data,
- How to conduct your post-flight image review, and
- The data you’ll need to complete the 3D model mock project.
Data processing for 3D Models
- How to launch and activate Pix4D Cloud, and
- How to upload your data into Pix4D Cloud for processing.
Data analysis for 3D Models
- How to analyze your 3D model in Pix4D, and
- How to use Sketchfab.
Final assignment
The final assignment for this course is completing a mock job for a park.
The park is requesting information about where floodwaters will collect, where they should build bike trails for their guests, what the highest point on their property is, what the length of the railing on their main building is, and if there’s any damage to the facade of their main building. They would also like a 3D model of their building.
This assignment will give you the opportunity to practice the new mapping and modeling skills you learned in the course.
Getting your certificate
If you successfully complete the final assignment, you will receive a Drone Mapping and Modeling Pro certificate. This certificate will prove to your employer and/or prospective clients that you have pro-level mapping and modeling knowledge and skills.
Meet Your Instructors
Jorge Casamiquela
Rut Patel
Hi, I’m Jorge!
I’m the curriculum development & support manager here at Drone Launch.
In addition to working at Drone Launch, I also run my own drone business, JFC Productions.
In this course, Rut and I will teach you pro-level mapping and modeling skills that will help you land important jobs.
Looking forward to seeing you in the course!
Hi again! I’m Rut.
I’m the founder and president of Voyager, a company that uses drone mapping and modeling to help energy, agriculture, and infrastructure clients get the data they need to solve their most challenging problems.
My company uses drone mapping and modeling in almost every job we work on.
I’m looking forward to teaching you the skills and knowledge I use to land contracts with clients and to complete complex mapping and modeling jobs.
Course Guarantee
We guarantee that by the end of this course, you’ll know how to create survey-grade maps and 3D models, which will allow you to create actionable data and analysis for clients in industries like construction, engineering, mining, and more.
If you go through the entire course and complete all of the assignments, but end up feeling like it wasn’t worth the money, just let us know and we’ll give you a complete refund.
Ready to get started?
If you’re ready to learn how to create drone maps and models that will help you land jobs and give your clients solutions to their biggest challenges, we’ll see you in the course!