Compare Design Plans and Drone Maps with New Overlay Tool

Easily view and compare data layers within DroneDeploy

An aerial map of a site can be helpful, but sometimes you need guidelines to understand what you’re looking at — just imagine trying to follow directions using a map with no street names.

Now, with our new overlay tool, it’s easy to import and overlay data layers right within the DroneDeploy interface — letting you quickly compare actual site conditions to other spatial information like design plans and utility maps.

Section of orthomosaic map with site electric overlay

On construction sites, project managers like Nick Johnson at Tilt Rock of Texas use plans overlaid on drone maps to help them keep projects on track. “Now, if I need a contractor to be aware of a design change before he lays pipe, I simply walk over to him with my tablet, blow up a particular section of overlaid plans and show him exactly what he needs to know,” said Nick.

“I’m able to discover conflicts earlier, communicate quickly to everyone involved, and implement changes long before contractors install incorrect work. I’m saving an enormous amount of time and money.” — Nick Johnson, Tilt Rock of Texas

Learn more about how Nick uses drone maps on the job site.

Construction isn’t the only industry that can benefit from overlaying additional data on a map. Anyone can use the overlay tool to add more visual data to a map, from growers comparing current crop health and historical yield data to fire chiefs superimposing protection systems and operating procedures to create pre-incident plans.

How to Add an Overlay to Your Drone Map

To add an overlay to your map, just click the “Add” button, select a PNG image with a transparent background, and then drag the two markers to align the image using recognizable features on the map.

Don’t have a PNG of your plan? Convert from a PDF using Acrobat Reader or online tools like PNGtoPDF .

Upload your PNG and then use the markers to align it on your map

You can even add multiple plans to the same map and show or hide different layers.

Once you’ve added an overlay, bring your map into the field on your mobile device or share it with your team in just one click!