Land Surveying
Produce survey‑grade deliverables faster
Powered by ROCK hardware and cloud. Standardize capture, tighten tolerances, and deliver CAD‑ready surfaces on tight timelines.
From Control to CAD, Digitize Your Entire Survey Workflow
In land surveying, every centimeter matters and every delay costs money. Traditional methods can be slow, expose crews to risk, and fail to capture the whole picture—leading to rework and overruns.
ROCK Robotic provides an end‑to‑end LiDAR and photogrammetry ecosystem—ROCK hardware, ROCK Desktop, and ROCK Cloud— so you capture a dense, centimeter‑accurate digital twin in hours, align to local control, and deliver CAD‑ready surfaces on tight timelines.
Three ways surveyors use ROCK
Topographic mapping
Generate bare‑earth DTMs and contours quickly with repeatable flight lines and QC/QA baked in.
Boundary & control
Tie to control, integrate GCPs/check shots, and document accuracy with clear reports.
CAD‑ready deliverables
Export contours, linework, and surfaces that slip into Civil 3D, MicroStation, and ArcGIS—no cleanup marathons.
Recommended workflow
Capture LiDAR with proper overlap and local control (RTK + PPK).
Field‑check in ROCK Desktop to confirm coverage & trajectory quality.
Process in ROCK Cloud → classify ground, align to control, generate contours.
Order planimetrics or export CAD deliverables directly.
Why survey firms choose ROCK
Survey‑grade accuracy, simplified. Centimeter‑level results with ROCK Ultra (1550 nm, ≥7 returns) and R3 Pro V2, plus robust control workflows.
True field‑to‑finish. ROCK Desktop (field QC) → ROCK Cloud (processing & sharing) → Surveyor/Planimetrics (deliverables).
Control‑first approach. Support for local datum/zone, GCPs, and check reports that keep reviewers happy.
Dense, clean ground. Deep vegetation penetration for reliable DTMs where photogrammetry alone falls short.
Scale on demand. Lean internal teams can offload to ROCK Pro Services when timelines stack up.
Typical survey deliverables
- Ground‑classified point cloud (LAS/LAZ)
- DTM/DEM & contours (0.25’–2’ or metric)
- Breaklines & hydro‑enforcement (banks, channels, culverts)
- Planimetric linework (EOP, curb/gutter, sidewalks, striping, buildings, utilities, fences, treelines)
- Control & accuracy report (PPK/RTK stats, residuals, check shots)
- Orthomosaic & colorized LiDAR for client visualization
- File formats: DWG/DXF, LandXML, SHP/GPKG, GeoTIFF, CSV.
Solutions for any site
Aerial LiDAR (UAV)
- ROCK Ultra – long‑range, fly‑higher simplicity for large tracts & canopy.
- ROCK R3 Pro V2 – high‑density scans for detail‑heavy sites and corridor topo.
Mobile & Handheld
- ROCK Mobile Mount – fast road/corridor and shoreline mapping.
- ROCK SLAM Dock V2 – GNSS‑denied interiors/exteriors for ALTA/AS‑built support.
Positioning & Corrections
- ROCK Base + RTK Network – triple‑band GNSS, NTRIP corrections, and RINEX for PPK.
Use cases
FAQs
Do I still need terrestrial shots?
Often fewer. Use LiDAR for dense topography and reserve terrestrial/RTK for monuments, utilities, and tight features per scope.
Can I hold my client's local grid?
Yes—apply site localization or a Helmert transformation and export to your requested coordinate system.
What's the best drone?
DJI M300/M350 and Freefly Astro are common; ask us about your platform and payload limits.
How do you prove accuracy?
We supply PPK/RTK stats, strip alignment checks, and independent check‑shot residuals with every DTM delivery.
Can you handle the drafting?
Yes—order ROCK Planimetrics or full Pro Services for turnkey CAD packages.
What accuracy can I expect?
Absolute accuracy (post‑processed): ~1–3 cm horizontal, ~2–3 cm vertical (site & control dependent).
How much area can I capture per day?
Throughput: 20–1,000+ acres/day depending on altitude, sensor, and airframe.
What are typical turnaround times?
Turnarounds: same‑day field QC; CAD deliverables via ROCK Cloud or Pro Services.
Knowledge for Land Surveying
5 Ways LiDAR Can Measure Vegetation Health in the Forestry Industry
In the world of forestry, LiDAR is an efficient way to get a quick read on the health of an area's vegetation.
Surveying Tricky Terrain? Drone LiDAR for the Win!
As advances in drone LiDAR technology continue to accelerate, we expect to see an increase in its use for land surveys in hazardous terrain.
Case Study: Using ROCK LiDAR to Inspect Power Lines Across California
How did Surefire approach this extensive power line inspection project? One drone LiDAR flight at a time.
How to Use Drone LiDAR for Construction Site Development
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7 Ways to Boost Your Drone's Battery Life
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Major Benefits of Using LiDAR Surveying for Transportation Departments
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3 Surveyors and Another Guy: An Incomplete History of Famous U.S. Surveyors
Mount Rushmore is known for its giant presidential faces carved into the Black Hills, but did you know that three of the four presidents...
Drones Are Going to Take Our Jobs: Dispelling Myths About UAVs in the Surveying Industry
Many traditional surveyors are hesitant to adopt drone LiDAR for their projects. We want to dispel some myths surveyors have about LiDAR.
Try ROCK Robotic now
Your 3D scanning journey starts here. Download ROCK Desktop or process in ROCK Cloud.