This U.S. construction firm is raising buildings via drone

As one of the largest privately held construction firms with multiple locations across the U.S., Brasfield & Gorrie has relied for several years on drones for access to high-quality aerial data throughout every phase of their award-winning construction projects. If you’ve seen the rocket test stands at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, for example, or visited the Georgia Aquarium or the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park, now known as Truist Park, you’ve experienced the vision and capabilities of Brasfield & Gorrie.

More recently, and just in time to help cities prepare for increasing demand for medical attention due to COVID-19 infections, they completed a number of major healthcare facilities in the South, including the Marcus Tower at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, which opened significantly ahead of schedule.

Back in 2016, the firm started ramping up drone operations, which they had been testing since 2014 when they established an unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drone) program. But in order to maximize the value of the technology spread out over multiple distant locations, the company needed to find a way to scale drone operations while honoring their top value: safety.