AERIAL SURVEYS
Part of our Data Acquisition, Data Delivery & Analytics Solutions
Central Alliance combines the latest advances in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and helicopter-based systems, with innovative uses of imaging equipment to perform a wide range of high-quality mapping and aerial surveying techniques.
Our survey department combines the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and manned aircraft with a range of aerial imaging and LiDAR capture technologies to perform a wide variety of aerial mapping surveys.
Aerial surveys provide high-quality data, which can be obtained through LiDAR, 3D point clouds, and photogrammetry, especially across large areas or in locations that are often inaccessible using ground-based survey techniques.
The resulting point cloud data and orthomosaics can be exported in various formats compatible with standard surveying and GIS software. This data can then be further assessed or incorporated into surveys and digital terrain models.
LiDAR
We own and operate a helicopter pod and aerial mapping system, capable of high-quality data capture over wide areas. The tailor-made pod can accommodate multiple sensors and cameras and is primarily used for specialist aerial LiDAR surveys and Phase One camera imagery for photogrammetry.
Typical applications include linear infrastructure and coastline surveys, as well as large areas of interest such as landslides and flood risk zones. The system offers significant advantages over unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly for linear and large-scale sites.
With the helicopter-mounted pod, LiDAR, and photogrammetry systems, mass data can be efficiently acquired and processed, bridging the gap in airspace coverage between UAVs and fixed-wing airborne platforms. This type of high-resolution data cannot be captured using UAVs due to limitations in payload capacity and flight altitude, nor by fixed-wing aircraft due to their higher speeds and lower point density.
Multispectral Images
Multispectral imagery captures data across multiple wavelengths of light including those beyond the visible spectrum, such as near-infrared and shortwave infrared. By analysing how different surfaces reflect or absorbs these wavelengths, multispectral imaging reveals details that the human eye, and standard camera simply can’t see.
Integration Into Terrestrial Surveys
We combine airborne and ground surveying to supply seamless, millimetre-accurate geospatial data. UAVS, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft capture LiDAR and high-resolution imagery across large, often access-restricted corridors, minimising site time and risk. Simultaneously, ground crews collect GNSS control, total-station detail and terrestrial laser scans, locking the aerial model to robust control. The ROBIN LiDAR mobile mapping platform, mountable on drones, vehicles or backpacks, lets the same sensor follow terrain from sky to street without data gaps. Unified processing outputs BIM-ready meshes, terrain models and asset registers, integrating geotechnical insight. Clients get end-to-end data and design confidence for faster safer, lower-risk project delivery.
High Resolution Imagery
High-resolution optical and multispectral imagery (typically two to five centimetre ground-sample distance) underpins several critical infrastructure workflows such as bridge inspections, coastal erosion assessments and vegetation management along road and rail alignments. Across each of the use cases, high-resolutions imagery improves safety by removing or reducing the need for in-person inspections of often safety-critical assets.
Imagery can be delivered in a variety of formats, including cloud native formats such as Cloud Optimised GeoTIFF’s to ensure accessibility on client devices and allowing all end-users to exploit the value inherent in the datasets.
We employ industry standard software packages to carry out processing, analysis and visualisation of high-resolution imagery products and has the capability and in-house expertise to create bespoke software packages and workflows to support client requirements.