The use of drones in the world of architecture is set to rise dramatically, with both an increase of building height in Australia’s cities and suburbs and contractual obligations for appropriate maintenance and pre-purchase due diligence reports making the fly-by camera an easier option.
And it’s money saving, too. Archicentre, the building design and advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects says the use of drones for building inspections gives building owners of commercial premises and owners’corporation managers of apartment buildings a cheaper option for assessing repairs.
Max Martin, Archicentre Commercial Business Development Manager said the new Drone Inspection Service enables inspections of the most challenging roof and building through the UAV technology, without the architect inspector leaving the ground.
“This has added a major safety factor to building inspections as well as eliminating traditional manual inspection processes such as hiring access equipment and scaffolds to gain access, which can cost thousands of dollars a day,” he said.
Whilst the Drone is up in the air, the architect controls and views the footage via an iPad device, and takes photos of the roof and the building. They will zoom in specifically on defects such as cracking, corrosion, storm damage, guttering and facades.
This isn’t the first time drones have been used for inspection purposes. Home insurers also utilise drones to assess claims without having to wait for access to be granted by authorities.