Drone-Based 3D Mapping: The Major Data Revolution Happening Now The FAA estimates that there will be 2.5 million drones operating within our boundaries by the end of this year. Moreover, they expect that number to increase to 7 million by 2020. Without question, the public and the press have become very aware of the presence of drones in American air space. Nevertheless, all the publicity tends to overlook the quiet revolution that is taking place in several industries as a result of drone-based 3D imagery. The truth is that a brief window of opportunity has opened for those who recognize the significance of this new technology and how to leverage it. Today, a very small investment of under a thousand dollars will give you the capability of generating survey-grade images, digital elevation maps, point clouds and other data that only a couple years ago would have been impossible to acquire. Mr. Johnson will present several real world examples of how this technology has changed the face of forensic reconstruction, crime scene documentation, surveying, construction and engineering analysis. He will take attendees through the practical steps necessary to acquire suitable images in the field and how those images may be processed to generate data that is extremely valuable and useful to a variety of clients. The presentation will also explain how this drone-based technology is a natural fit with terrestrial-based laser scanners that have become extremely popular among surveying, construction and engineering firms. Mr. Johnson will provide references to a number of online resources and tools that he has ferreted out from his own extensive work in this area. This presentation will be of great interest to any drone pilot wishing to expand operations beyond photography and video applications. Conferences: Drone TechCon, Drone Enterprise