Pub. 13 2018 Issue 1

5 Issue 1 2018 / UCLS Foresights www.ucls.org I think the first part of the answer is an acknowledgement that the use of drones, in certain instances, is by state statute, a regulated survey activity. type of measurements and calculations required to use machine guided control. I believe that the use of drones may become our professions next regretta - ble “toothpaste” moment. It certainly appears to me that we as a surveying community have embraced the use of drones for surveying, but my concern is all of the non-licensed individuals who are using drones for surveying. I hope we all understand that when I say non-licensed that I am not re - ferring to your crew chiefs or survey technicians. I am concerned about the average construction or utility employ - ee mapping and surveying with readily available drone technology. We can’t firmly plant our head in the sand and assume that this isn’t currently going on and that the practice won’t expand as drones with LiDAR and orthopho - tography capabilities become more available, less expensive, and more user friendly. I’m not here to say I have all the an swers, because I don’t, but I think the first part of the answer is an acknowledgement that the use of drones, in certain instances, is by state statute, a regulated survey activity. Once we acknowledge that, we then need to educate those within our own profession and our sister professions (engineering, construction, utilities, etc.), that yes, they are indeed surveying when they use a drone for “measuring the surface of the earth.” Although I will agree that most state statues allow that to be performed under an Engineer’s license. Without acknowledgement and education, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes we made with GIS and machine guided control, and in a few short years, measuring the surface of the earth will no longer be considered surveying. I can assure you, we are not simply finders of property lines, and I think it would be a disservice to the public if we allowed ourselves to be considered just that. t