Skycatch Drones Provide Bird’s Eye View of Construction Projects

AT&T* is working with Skycatch Inc. to provide insight and near real-time information from drones on the job. Tracking progress on large construction sites around the world, Skycatch will connect their precision 3D mapping drones with AT&T LTE-connected tablets on the ground to help ensure high accuracy positioning. Skycatch provides the link between the drones and the tablets and then AT&T’s services are used to connect the tablets and other ground-based devices.

Skycatch drones and software platform help companies incorporate aerial data into their everyday workflow. Industries such as construction, mining, and energy use Skycatch solutions for insight into their projects. Using data collected from above, the drone data company can help build high-resolution maps and 3D models of a job site. With millions of dollars on the line, companies want to know their projects are moving forward safely and efficiently.

The highly secure LTE based solution sends position and correction data quickly —helping ground operators keep an eye on their UAS operations around the world by logging flight hours, battery and maintenance issues from their LTE connected tablets.

The tablets can also help keep drones stay within bounds, receiving updates such as temporary no-fly zones from the Skycatch system.

“We’re working with some of the best in the industry to help ensure that drones can work on our network,” said Matt Walsh, director of business development, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) - AT&T IoT Solutions. “But the benefit of connectivity is not limited to sky-focused wireless services. IoT can benefit drone solutions such as Skycatch today by improving their accuracy and providing an inside look at their operations from ground based technologies like the Skycatch connected tablets.”

“In today’s fast-paced world, how quickly and reliably you can get information has a tangible impact on your bottom line,” said Christian Sanz, Founder & CEO of Skycatch. “High Accuracy allows professionals including earthmovers, architects, and BIM managers to receive an accurate representation of the land to facilitate accurate and fast changes in design, inspection, and general job site planning. AT&T’s powerful infrastructure enables us to deliver our high-fidelity aerial maps and 3D point clouds to our customers at the high level of speed and quality they need to integrate them into their own workflow.”

Skycatch is a global leader in commercial drone data solutions. Heavy-equipment giant Komatsu uses these systems for precision surveys and machine automation at hundreds of job sites across the world.

“This powerful data and machine learning platform has allowed us to remove the complexity of operating heavy machinery,” said Ryochi Togashi, General Manager in Komatsu’s office of the CTO.