Reading serial numbers and identifying cracks in buildings is the sort of detail drones are capable of capturing - and mapping information that's set to become more readily available.
Extremely granular geospatial information from Australian drone company Aerologix will soon be embedded into the Soar platform, the creation of another local startup endeavouring to put together the world's biggest digital atlas.
Going well beyond the capabilities of Google Earth, the Soar platform draws on spatial data from a variety of sources - climatic patterns, historical photos and more - and puts it all in one free, open-access and searchable place.
So far, it includes almost 700,000 maps from official sources such as NASA and individuals interested in maps.
Mining firms, students and major news outlets are among its user base.
Aerologix co-founder and CEO Tom Caska said the platform's integration with his company's drone imagery was a logical next step.
While satellites and aircraft provide a certain amount of accuracy, Mr Caska said drone technology could produce extremely data-rich imagery.
"We can get millimetre accuracy on buildings, identify cracks, read serial numbers, see tiny little bolts," he told AAP.
The detailed maps and images collected by the company's network of 36,000 drone pilots was already useful for maintaining infrastructure and planning new construction.
Such detail is also powerful for tracking changes in the natural environment, such as coastal erosion, and predicting what will happen next.
For Mr Caska, Soar's easy-to-use platform posed exciting education opportunities.
"You can think of how tech-savvy kids are these days," he said.
"Instead of playing games on their on their iPads, they could be interacting with the platform and they could be being educated about the environment and all sorts of things."
Commercial arrangements are still being ironed out but Soar is already exploring premium offerings across the platform.
Mr Caska said the arrangement would be great exposure, attracting clients interested in more in-depth and up-to-date spatial information the network of drone pilots could provide for a fee.
Starting life as an "Uber-for-drones" marketplace aimed at linking real estate agents and wedding photographers with its network of drone pilots, the business has since evolved.
It now works with big clients, such as telcos and mining companies, to produce on-demand drone imagery made more valuable with its software capable of spinning up 3D models and pulling out features such as infrastructure defects.
Soar founder and CEO Amir Farhand was excited to make use of the vast network of drone pilots and saw the growth potential.
“The platform is designed for seamless interaction, and we are excited to partner and contribute to the end goal of building the world’s biggest atlas,” he said.
