Overview:
High Exposure Drone Services specialises in advanced aerial imaging solutions, including “Future Level Views”—a innovative service that captures 360-degree spherical images from drones at precise heights corresponding to future building levels. This provides property developers, architects, and engineers with immersive insights into potential views before construction begins.
This project involved capturing images at seven specified levels for a proposed 39-story mixed-use development in Bella Vista, Western Sydney. , enabling stakeholders to evaluate sightlines and surrounding views with unparalleled accuracy.
By leveraging drone technology, precise RTK GPS technology, and post-processing expertise, High Exposure helped the developer make informed decisions, reducing risks and enhancing project planning.
Scope of Work:
- Aerial Data Capture: Utilise high-resolution drones to capture detailed imagery of the roofs of all buildings on the St Vincent’s College campus.
- Data Management: Upload captured images to an online software platform, organized by individual building for streamlined analysis.
- Defect Identification: Enable a building inspector to analyze the imagery, identify roof defects, and generate a detailed report pinpointing the location of each issue.
- Deliverable: Provide a clear, actionable list of defects requiring further investigation or repair, with precise contextual mapping.
Project Background:
The Bella Vista development site, located in the rapidly growing Norwest Business Park precinct of Western Sydney, is earmarked for a landmark 39-story residential and commercial tower. With Sydney’s urban landscape evolving, the property developer sought to differentiate the project by offering prospective buyers and investors a realistic preview of views from various floors. Traditional methods, such as artist renderings or basic elevation models, often fall short in conveying the true experiential quality of high-rise views, including panoramic details like distant landmarks, traffic patterns, and sunlight exposure.
The developer requested 360° Future Level Views at seven key heights, selected to represent a cross-section of the building’s levels. This data was critical for marketing, architectural refinements, and engineering validations, ensuring the design maximized value from the site’s elevated position.
Challenges
- Height Accuracy and Safety: Simulating views from a non-existent 39-story structure required pinpoint elevation control using an onboard barometer and RTK GPS
- Stakeholder Accessibility: Delivering raw imagery wouldn’t suffice; stakeholders needed an intuitive platform to explore views interactively without technical expertise.
- Timeline and Precision: The developer required rapid turnaround to align with planning approvals and investor presentations, while maintaining survey-grade accuracy.
Aerial Map and survey plan overlay to determine accurate drone positioning using set back measurements
Solution: High Exposure’s Future Level View Approach
High Exposure’s Future Level View service addresses these challenges through a streamlined, technology-driven workflow:
1. Planning and Height Determination
Using the developer’s provided building plans, Reduced Levels (RLs), and slab level RLs, High Exposure’s team calculated exact capture altitudes. To simulate eye-level perspectives (accounting for human standing height), 1.6 meters was added to each slab level RL. This ensured images reflected realistic viewpoints from future floors.
Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning was utilised, achieving centimeter-level accuracy of the drones position. RTK integrates GPS with ground-based corrections, allowing the drone to hover precisely at target elevations.
2. Data Capture
A professional-grade drone equipped with high resolution 360 spherical panorama capture cabilities was deployed over the site in the specified location. Flights were conducted during optimal lighting conditions to minimise shadows and glare. For each of the seven levels, the drone captured multiple high-resolution images in a spherical array, covering full panoramas without distortion from ground-level obstructions.
Safety protocols included pre-flight site surveys, airspace checks, and real-time monitoring to avoid nearby construction and any other ground based hazards.
3. Post-Processing and Enhancement
Raw images were stitched into seamless 360-degree spheres using specialised software. Parallax errors (distortions from multi-angle captures) were meticulously corrected to ensure smooth transitions. Color correction was applied for natural vibrancy, accounting for the atmospheric haze common in Western Sydney.
4. Delivery and Accessibility
The processed panoramas were uploaded to a secure, cloud-based 360 viewing platform. Each image was labeled with corresponding floor levels and RL’s (e.g., “Level 5 – Eye Height View”). Stakeholders could access the platform via web or mobile, with features for virtual tours, annotations, and sharing—facilitating collaborative reviews among developers, architects, and engineers.
Results
The Future Level Views provided transformative insights:
- Design Optimisation: Architects are able to identify view-blocking elements from lower levels, leading to adjustments in balcony placements and window designs for better visibility of the available views.
- Marketing Impact: The developer used the interactive views in investor pitches and pre-sales materials.
- Cost Savings: By preempting design changes post-construction, the project avoided potential rework costs.
- Stakeholder Satisfaction: Feedback highlighted the platform’s ease of use, with a member of the development team noting the realism of the imagery as if you were actually standing on the future floors.
Quantitatively, the seven views covered heights from RL +1.6m (ground equivalent) to upper levels approximating 120m, revealing evolving vistas from suburban greenery to expansive cityscapes.
Conclusion
High Exposure’s Future Level View service exemplifies how drone technology can bridge the gap between conceptual plans and real-world outcomes. For the Bella Vista 39-story development, it not only met the developer’s request for seven precise level views but also elevated the project’s overall viability. As urban developments in Western Sydney continue to rise, services like this empower stakeholders with data-driven confidence, minimising uncertainties and maximising returns.
Contact our team for your next level view development project.
Update
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