Commercial systems desk · 11 mission lanes
Choose the client mission, assemble the smallest complete system, prove the handoff, then upgrade only when paid demand creates a requirement.
Mission selector
Selected mission
Learn capture geometry, coordinate systems, processing, and checkpoint logic on RGB data before buying RTK or LiDAR.
The output and accuracy claim choose the aircraft, control, processing, and professional team.
Buyer
Surveyors, engineers, civil contractors, aggregates teams, and GIS groups
Accepted output
An orthomosaic, point cloud, surface, volume, or capture set with defensible metadata
Open the full mission guideMinimum viable system
Check an item only when the system meets its field acceptance test. Owning the object is not the same as being ready to sell the work.
System readiness
0/4
Stored for this visit only. Verify requirements on every assignment.
Repeatable nadir and oblique image collection
Why it earns a place
Learning depends on consistent exposure, overlap, coverage, and platform support rather than premium positioning hardware.
Ready when
Current support in the capture workflow, sharp imagery, full coverage, and preserved camera metadata.
Align imagery, build outputs, retain sources, and reproduce the project
Why it earns a place
Photogrammetry can consume substantial compute, disk, and upload resources; a beautiful output without its source record is fragile.
Ready when
Sample dataset benchmarked, two source copies, processing report retained, and final exports reopened independently.
Verify projection, units, location, extent, gaps, values, and interoperability
Why it earns a place
The processing engine should not be the only tool used to inspect its own output.
Ready when
GeoTIFF, vector, and point outputs open in the target CRS with correct units and metadata.
Test scale, location, coverage, and repeatability without implying survey control
Why it earns a place
Independent checks reveal mistakes that camera positions and processing residuals alone can hide.
Ready when
Target layout, coordinate source, role of each point, and withheld checks documented.
Field pack
High-contrast targets
Make control and checkpoint roles visible and repeatable.
Survey-grade GNSS through a partner or rental
Establish appropriate control under competent ownership.
Scale, paint-safe markers, and field notebook
Record target identity, condition, and site checks.
Independent storage and spare media
Protect high-volume source capture before leaving the site.
Procurement method
This page recommends capabilities and systems, not a universal shopping cart. Exact aircraft, payload, software, security, and approval requirements remain assignment-specific.
An orthomosaic, listing gallery, thermal dataset, search record, and cinema take are different products. Write the handoff before choosing hardware.
Cover aircraft, payload, power, field control, software, source custody, QA, and delivery. A drone by itself is not a working stack.
Run the complete workflow and test the output in the client's destination system before promising compatibility, accuracy, or turnaround.
Add RTK, thermal, LiDAR, zoom, FPV, or a larger aircraft only when a funded assignment creates a requirement the baseline cannot meet.
Continue the working path
Use the mission guide to learn the deliverable, the software desk to choose the production stack, the requirements checker to identify approvals, and the profit calculator to include processing, subscriptions, travel, insurance, and equipment reserve.
Source policy
Regulatory cautions link to FAA, EPA, USGS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other primary or official material. Product buttons route through Drone Authority's existing tracked catalog; Amazon links may earn a commission, while manufacturer options remain available when they are the useful source. Compatibility, prices, support, and rules can change.
Verify current FAA requirements