American-Made. Built to Perform. Meet the Newest Addition to the LIS Drone Fleet.

L.I. Smith & Associates (LIS) has expanded its drone fleet with the addition of the Freefly Astro, an American-made drone built for advanced aerial surveying, mapping, laser scanning, and high-resolution photography.

Equipped with a GeoCue TrueView 641 LiDAR sensor, the Astro gives our team the ability to collect highly detailed data across large project sites from the air. Depending on site conditions, the system can survey and map up to 400 acres in a single day, making it especially valuable on large, complex, or difficult-to-access properties.

LiDAR is a laser-based technology that measures the ground from the air and creates a highly detailed 3D map of a site. As the drone flies, the system sends out laser pulses and measures how they return, allowing our surveyors to capture terrain, structures, roadways, stockpiles, drainage features, vegetation, and other existing conditions.

The TrueView 641 also features RTK, or Real-Time Kinematic, technology, which improves the drone’s GPS positioning while it is flying. This helps increase the accuracy of the data being collected and, under appropriate project conditions, allows LIS to achieve aerial mapping accuracy approaching 0.03 feet, or roughly one-third of an inch.

That combination of speed and accuracy gives LIS another valuable tool for topographic mapping, construction progress surveys, earthwork and stockpile quantities, existing-condition documentation, 3D modeling, and large-scale site mapping.

The Astro can also be equipped with an LR1 camera for high-resolution aerial photography. In addition to survey data, our team can capture detailed site imagery, high-resolution aerial maps, construction progress photos, and visual documentation that gives clients a clear view of how a project is developing over time.

Another major advantage of the Astro is its NDAA compliance and Blue UAS approval. In simple terms, the platform meets federal security and sourcing requirements, making it eligible for use on many government, infrastructure, and other security-sensitive project sites where non-compliant drones may not be permitted.

For LIS, the value of the Astro is its versatility. One platform can support precise laser scanning, high-resolution photography, large-area mapping, progress documentation, and detailed site analysis. It also allows our teams to collect a large amount of information more efficiently while reducing the amount of time crews may need to spend moving through difficult terrain or active construction areas.

The Freefly Astro is more than a new addition to our drone fleet. It expands what LIS can accomplish for our clients. The platform can cover hundreds of acres in a day, collect highly accurate survey data, produce detailed 3D mapping, capture high-resolution imagery, and meet the requirements of many government and sensitive project sites. As technology continues to reshape the surveying industry, LIS will continue investing in tools that help us work smarter, move faster, and deliver the accurate, dependable results our clients expect.