PIX4Dcloud paves the way for digital construction in Peru
Technology's rapid evolution has had a transformative effect on industry today—construction being no exception. The emergence of technologies such as photogrammetry, Building Information Modeling (BIM), virtual reality (VA), and augmented reality (AR) have brought major advancements to these fields.
Drones in construction
At the University of Lima, the Civil Engineering Department's Project Simulation Laboratory is a dedicated space where students and faculty can access and use these emerging technologies. The small team maintains buildings and monitors construction on campus. They promote the use of BIM methods, digital topographic surveys with photogrammetry and drones, and any other projects requested by the university.
Photogrammetry in Peru
The team was asked to monitor the construction of the Centro de Innovación Tecnológica (Center of Technological Innovation), a building on campus now renowned for its innovative architectural design and educational infrastructure—even winning international awards and recognition.
This project was a significant step forward for the university, as photogrammetry is not widely used in Peru. Consequently, there is a shortage of specialists, making third-party flying services very costly. The university's laboratory managing this aspect was a huge advantage. By using drones and Pix4D, they were able to meticulously monitor the process, saving time and money while increasing the quality of information.
Monitoring the process with PIX4Dcloud
To avoid potential problems that could arise from inconsistencies between the plans and construction, the team turned to PIX4Dcloud to help them track and prevent issues. The process required frequent and numerous flights as the construction company required weekly updates about site progress so they could spot and correct issues as they occured.
They managed to identify incongruencies on the point cloud and make sure progress stuck to the established schedule, which included weekly construction control and verification of vertical alignment.
PIX4Dcloud and project management
The team found several features of PIX4Dcloud useful for project management:
- Option to include floor plans overlapped with the orthomosaic
- Measuring volumes and distances
- Comparing construction work at different dates
With PIX4Dcloud, they were able to share survey information with the construction company immediately as all project data was stored and accessed through a simple link. This allowed for continuous and detailed project monitoring and ensured the project’s success!
Project details:
of images26,900 images at 20.2 MP
time 30 minutes to 1 hour
Cloud-based collaboration
Large file sizes containing precise digital information are a challenge for the team to store and share, PIX4Dcloud resolved this by allowing the team to achieve the required precision and easily share information via a shared URL. All information was readily available in the cloud, facilitating easy sharing with project collaborators, regardless of location.
Advantages of digital construction
The fact that they could take precise measurements and perform complex calculations directly on the point cloud allowed for more efficient, precise work, in terms of:
- Accuracy ensuring that every aspect of the construction project matches the design specifications
- Planning creating detailed plans and models for new structures or modifications to existing ones
- Monitoring tracking the progress, identifying deviations, spotting errors in advance
- Verification confirming that completed work meets required standards and specifications
- Analysis performing structural and spatial analysis to make informed decisions about the project
Overall, using PIX4Dcloud and digitizing the construction process with photogrammetry helped reduce the risk of errors and improved project management, streamlining the entire process.
