Fly Higher, Finish Faster: How Florida Design Consultants Mapped 500+ Acres in One Flight with ROCK Ultra

For surveyors and mapping professionals, large-scale projects present a classic trade-off: cover ground quickly or capture high-density, survey-grade data. Doing both has historically required extensive resources, multiple days in the field, and complex mission planning. But what if you could eliminate that trade-off?

That’s exactly what the team at Florida Design Consultants, Inc. (FDC) discovered when they deployed the new ROCK Ultra LiDAR system on a complex, multi-phase residential development in Zephyrhills, Florida. By flying higher and faster than ever before, they surveyed over 500 acres in a single flight, saving days of work and proving a new model for operational efficiency.

The Challenge: A Sprawling, Diverse Florida Landscape

The Zephyrhills project was the perfect proving ground for a next-generation LiDAR system. Spanning over 500 acres, the site is a typical Florida mix of challenging terrains.

“The job has under-construction phases with housing, roads, woods, swamps… it’s a well-rounded job with multiple types of terrain to test the sensor,” says Matt Barksdale, Survey Project Manager and UAS Pilot at FDC.

Traditionally, tackling a site of this scale and complexity would be a logistical puzzle. The FDC team estimated the job would have taken multiple days of fieldwork with previous-generation LiDAR systems.

We would have been out there two or three days, just cycling batteries, trying to keep up to get this entire site done.”

— Brian Drinkwater, Survey Project Manager, FDC

This multi-day approach meant more time on site, more manpower, more battery swaps, and more opportunities for error—all of which translate to higher costs and tighter deadlines.

The Solution: The ROCK Ultra’s "Easy Button" Workflow

The FDC team, long-time users of ROCK Robotic sensors, used the ROCK Ultra to fundamentally change their approach. The Ultra’s long-range 1550 nm laser and tactical-grade IMU are designed to provide survey-grade accuracy from a high altitude, effectively creating an "easy button" for mission planning.

Instead of navigating complex terrain at low altitudes, the team could fly at 120 meters (approx. 400 ft) AGL and 18 mph—covering vast areas in simple, efficient grid patterns. Obstacles like trees and construction equipment, once a primary concern, became irrelevant.

The Flight: A 500+ Acre Site in 70 Minutes

The results of the new workflow were staggering. The FDC team captured the entire 500+ acre site with just one hour and ten minutes of air time.

A huge savings in time, manpower, the control that’s needed to set everything up… just all around, it’s a huge benefit in time,” explains Brian Drinkwater.

This efficiency extended to logistics. While a similar project would have required constant battery cycling over several days, the Ultra mission was completed with just three sets of batteries. This reduction in field time strips the hassle out of big site surveys and frees up expert crews for other high-value tasks.

The Results: Data Without Compromise

Speed and efficiency are meaningless without quality data. The real test was whether the ROCK Ultra, flying twice as high and twice as fast, could deliver the same survey-grade precision the FDC team relied on. The answer was a definitive yes.

“It was impressive,” Drinkwater confirms. The data was “similar to the R3 data [we collect] in less than half the height and half the speed.”

The clean ground penetration, even through Florida's dense woods and swamps, is a testament to the Ultra's 1550 nm laser and its ability to capture up to 7 returns per pulse. In the ROCK Cloud, the bare-earth model was crisp and detailed, easily distinguishing terrain features.

Watch the full story and see the data for yourself:

A New Standard for Large-Scale Surveying

The experience of Florida Design Consultants demonstrates a clear evolution in LiDAR mapping. The ROCK Ultra proves that surveyors no longer have to choose between speed and accuracy. By enabling high-altitude, high-speed missions, it drastically reduces time in the field, simplifies mission planning, and lowers operational costs—all while delivering the pristine, survey-grade data that professionals demand.

For firms like FDC that are tackling large and complex projects, the new and improved ROCK Ultra LiDAR has officially changed the game.