GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - A survey crew from Sierra Overhead Analytics, a civil engineering, environmental engineering and computational modeling firm, was observed at Gridley’s Industrial Park Monday afternoon. The future home of 350 FEMA trailers was in the process of being mapped out by the SOA crew using an unmanned aircraft system, or drone, to collect remote-sensing data of the area. Drone operator for SOA, Harley Hiles, explained that the drone is programed to fly over the site at a 90 degree angle to the ground, continuously taking pictures while it follows a designated course set by the operator. Hiles said that they expected to get over 3,000 images of the 76 acre site once the drone had finished its fly over.

While the drone is the eye in the sky, the crew on the ground uses standard surveying equipment, such as a theodolite, an instrument with a rotating telescope for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, to measure and mark exact positions, their elevation and the exact distance between two marks. The aerial images from the drone will be used in coordination with the ground crews survey marks, overlaying and matching the images with those key positions to create a scaled map of the area. According to Connor Beatty of Sierra Overhead Analytics, the survey was a necessary step for future engineers, providing the correct data in order to calculate quantities of building materials, such as concrete for the installation of curbs along roadsides, and the exact dimensions required for the future development of the site.