C‑DRONE
Top-down orthophoto-style view of farmland parcels captured by drone

🗺️ SURVEYING & PHOTOGRAMMETRY · ARLES (13) · €800–3,000 PER DAY

Drone surveying & photogrammetry in Arles

Drone photogrammetry turns a few hundred aerial photos into precision survey products: georeferenced orthophotography at 1–3 cm/pixel, digital surface and terrain models, 3D point clouds, contour lines, stockpile and earthworks volume calculations. With an RTK/PPK drone and ground control points measured by centimetre-grade GNSS, accuracy reaches 2 to 5 cm both horizontally and vertically — sufficient for most development studies, at a fraction of the cost of an exhaustive ground survey.

We cover from 1 to several hundred hectares per day depending on the required resolution, including hard-to-access sites: working quarries, landfills, riverbanks, industrial wasteland. Deliverables come in your coordinate system (Lambert 93 / RGF93, conic conformal projections) and standard formats (GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ, DXF, GIS formats). Chartered surveyors, civil engineering offices, quarry operators and local authorities are regular clients.

Free quote — surveying & photogrammetry in Arles

Rates

€800–3,000 per day — the range observed on the 2026 French market, including regulatory preparation, flight and delivery. The exact quote depends on the site, the deliverable and the airspace context in Arles.

Common use cases

The local context in Arles

Arles piles up superlatives: mainland France's largest commune (758 km²), a UNESCO-listed Roman and Romanesque ensemble (arena, ancient theatre, Saint-Trophime cloister), Van Gogh's legacy, the Rencontres photography festival and the Frank Gehry-designed Luma tower. To the south stretches the Camargue: a regional natural park and national nature reserve where low-altitude flight is strictly controlled to protect flamingos and birdlife — drones are effectively banned there without authorisation. To the east, the military zones of Istres-Le Tubé air base set their own limits.

The Arles economy lives on culture and tourism, agriculture (Camargue rice, Crau hay) and a river port on the Rhône. Drone demand: heritage documentation (with monument authorisations), rice farming, monitoring of the Rhône dykes — a major issue since the 2003 floods — and audiovisual productions.

Applicable regulations

Survey flights mostly take place outside built-up areas, in open category A2 or A3 (photogrammetry drones weigh 900 g to 6 kg) flying automated grid patterns below the regulatory 120 m. Long corridors or populated sites fall under the specific category (STS-01/STS-02, or an operational authorisation for BVLOS on long corridors). The operator is registered on AlphaTango and checks regulated zones on Géoportail: quarries and industrial estates are often near airfields or under military low-altitude training routes (RTBA), requiring protocols or time slots. Legally binding georeferencing (enforceable boundary plans) remains the exclusive remit of chartered surveyors, with whom we work as subcontractors.

Frequently asked questions

What accuracy can a drone survey guarantee?

With an RTK drone and ground control points, we guarantee 2 to 5 cm XYZ accuracy, verified against independent checkpoints whose residuals are documented in the processing report.

Does a drone survey replace a chartered surveyor?

No for legally binding documents (boundary demarcation, land division): that is the chartered surveyor's legal monopoly. Yes for technical studies: our deliverables feed directly into civil works design, volume calculations and environmental studies.

Does vegetation interfere with photogrammetric surveys?

Yes: photogrammetry measures the visible surface, so the canopy rather than the ground beneath. For wooded areas, we offer drone LiDAR, which penetrates vegetation and reconstructs the bare terrain.

Can this service be flown anywhere in Arles?

Almost: Réserve naturelle nationale de Camargue (survol réglementé, drones proscrits sans autorisation); Zones militaires de la base aérienne d'Istres-Le Tubé à l'est; Centre ancien UNESCO très fréquenté. Depending on the exact location, the pilot picks the right framework (open or specific category) and files the required declarations — included in the quote.

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