Glossary
Drone services glossary
61 plain-language definitions of drone cleaning, inspection, thermal, LiDAR, mapping and farm drone terms — each linked to the matching service.
[ 3 ]
- 3D Mapping
- Building a measurable three-dimensional model of a site or structure from overlapping drone photos or LiDAR scans.
- 3D Mapping & Digital Twins →
[ A ]
- Advanced RPAS Certificate
- Transport Canada pilot certificate required to fly drones in controlled airspace, near people, or over bystanders. All ClearHorizon pilots hold it.
- FAQ →
- Aerial Inspection
- Surveying the condition of a roof, façade, tower or other asset from the air with a drone instead of ladders, lifts or scaffolding.
- High-Resolution Aerial Inspections →
- Aerial Photography
- Still photos and video captured by drone for real estate listings, marketing, progress records and documentation.
- Aerial Photography & Video →Real Estate Aerial Photography →
- Aerial Reforestation
- Dispersing tree seed or seed pods from a heavy-lift drone over cleared, burned or hard-to-reach land.
- Aerial Reforestation & Seed Dropping →
- Agricultural Drainage Mapping
- Elevation mapping of fields to plan tile drainage and identify low spots where water pools.
- Farm Drainage & Elevation Mapping →Agriculture & Farming →
- Agricultural Spraying
- Applying crop protection products, fertilizer or larvicide from a spray drone with precise rate control.
- Agricultural Drone Spraying, Fertilizing & Seeding →Drone Crop Spraying →
[ B ]
- Building Envelope
- The physical barrier between a building's interior and the outdoors: walls, roof, windows, doors and foundation.
- Building Envelope Thermal Audits →Commercial Exterior & Façade Inspections →
[ C ]
- Cladding
- The outer layer of material — metal panels, brick, stone, EIFS, siding — covering a building's structure.
- Drone Façade & Siding Cleaning →Commercial Exterior & Façade Inspections →
- Condition Survey
- A documented record of the visible condition of a building or asset, often used for capital planning and reserve fund studies.
- Commercial Exterior & Façade Inspections →Property Management & Condominiums →
- Confined-Space Drone
- A caged, collision-tolerant drone that flies inside tanks, silos, boilers and ducts so workers don't have to enter.
- Confined Space Drone Inspections →
- Construction Progress Monitoring
- Repeated drone flights over a job site to document progress, compare against plans and share updates with stakeholders.
- Construction Progress Monitoring →Construction & Civil Engineering →
- Cover Crop Seeding
- Broadcasting cover crop seed by drone into standing crops or wet fields that ground equipment can't reach.
- Drone Seeding & Cover Crops →
- Crop Scouting
- Surveying fields from the air to find pest, disease, nutrient or water stress before it spreads.
- Crop Scouting & NDVI Mapping →Agriculture & Farming →
- Curtain Wall
- A non-structural glass and aluminum exterior wall common on high-rises; its seals and gaskets need regular inspection and cleaning.
- Commercial Drone Window Washing →Commercial Real Estate & High-Rise Towers →
- Cut and Fill
- Earthworks calculation comparing existing ground to design grade to find how much soil must be removed or added.
- Cut/Fill & Earthworks Analysis →
[ D ]
- Delta T
- The temperature difference between inside and outside a building. Thermal scans work best with a large Delta T, usually in fall and winter.
- Autumn Flat Roof Thermal Scans →Thermal Imaging & FLIR Infrared →
- Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
- A grid of ground elevations produced from drone photogrammetry or LiDAR, used for drainage, grading and design.
- LiDAR Topographic Surveys →Surveying & LiDAR →
- Digital Twin
- An accurate, measurable 3D model of a real building or site that can be viewed, measured and updated over time.
- 3D Imaging & Digital Twins →
- Drone Services
- The range of work a drone company performs — cleaning, inspection, thermal imaging, mapping, surveying, spraying and photography.
- Service areas →
- Drone Window Washing
- Cleaning windows and glass from a tethered drone that sprays purified water and cleaning solution — no swing stage or rope access.
- Commercial Drone Window Washing →Commercial Drone Cleaning & Soft Washing →
[ E ]
- Efflorescence
- White mineral deposits on brick or concrete caused by moisture moving through masonry — a sign of water intrusion.
- Drone Façade & Siding Cleaning →Commercial Exterior & Façade Inspections →
- Environmental Monitoring
- Repeat aerial surveys tracking erosion, shoreline change, vegetation and site restoration over time.
- Environmental & Erosion Monitoring →
[ F ]
- Façade
- The exterior face of a building. Façade inspections document cracks, spalling, loose cladding and failed sealant.
- Drone Façade & Siding Cleaning →Commercial Exterior & Façade Inspections →
- Fertilizer Application
- Spreading granular or liquid fertilizer by drone, often for top-dressing or variable-rate application.
- Drone Fertilizer Application →
- Flashing
- Metal or membrane strips that seal roof edges, parapets and penetrations — a common source of roof leaks.
- Flat Roof Inspections →Drone Home & Roof Inspections →
- Flat Roof
- A low-slope roof common on commercial and multi-family buildings, prone to ponding water and hidden moisture.
- Flat Roof Inspections →Thermal Roof Moisture Detection →
- FLIR / Infrared Camera
- A thermal camera that records heat rather than visible light, revealing heat loss, moisture and electrical hot spots.
- Thermal Imaging & FLIR Infrared →
[ G ]
- Georeferencing
- Tying drone imagery to real-world coordinates so maps and models line up with survey data and GIS.
- Orthomosaic Aerial Mapping →
- Ground Control Points (GCPs)
- Surveyed markers placed on the ground to improve the absolute accuracy of drone maps.
- LiDAR Topographic Surveys →Surveying & LiDAR →
[ H ]
- Heavy-Lift Drone
- A large drone carrying heavy payloads — ClearHorizon's largest aircraft is truck-box-sized and carries up to 100 lb.
- Heavy-Lift Drone Cargo Delivery (up to 100 lb) →
- Home Inspection (Drone)
- Roof and exterior review of a house by drone, often for buyers, sellers, insurers or steep roofs that are unsafe to walk.
- Drone Home & Roof Inspections →
- Hot Spot
- An abnormally warm area in a thermal image — on electrical gear, solar cells or roofs it often signals a fault.
- Electrical & Mechanical Thermography →Solar Panel Thermal Inspections →
[ I ]
- Insurance Claim Inspection
- Drone documentation of roof and exterior damage for insurance adjusters and property owners.
- Insurance & Storm Damage Inspections →Rapid Post-Storm Damage Assessment →
[ L ]
- LiDAR
- Light Detection and Ranging — a laser scanner that measures millions of points to map terrain, even under vegetation.
- Surveying & LiDAR →
- Livestock Monitoring
- Using visual and thermal drone flights to count, locate and check on cattle and other livestock across pasture.
- Livestock Monitoring & Thermal Search →
[ M ]
- Mosquito Larvicide
- Applying larvicide to standing water by drone to control mosquito populations before they hatch.
- Mosquito Larvicide Application →
[ N ]
- NDVI
- Normalized Difference Vegetation Index — a measure of plant health from multispectral imagery used in crop scouting.
- Crop Scouting & NDVI Mapping →
[ O ]
- Orthomosaic
- A single, distortion-corrected aerial map stitched from hundreds of drone photos, measurable like a map.
- Orthomosaic Aerial Mapping →3D Mapping & Digital Twins →
[ P ]
- Parapet
- The low wall around the edge of a flat roof — its caps and flashing are frequent leak points.
- Flat Roof Inspections →
- Payload
- The camera, sensor, spray tank, cleaning system or cargo a drone carries.
- Heavy-Lift Drone Cargo Delivery (up to 100 lb) →Quote estimator →
- Photogrammetry
- Creating measurements, maps and 3D models from overlapping photographs.
- 3D Mapping & Digital Twins →3D Imaging & Digital Twins →
- Point Cloud
- A dataset of millions of 3D points from LiDAR or photogrammetry, used to model buildings and terrain.
- Surveying & LiDAR →
- Powerline Inspection
- Close visual and thermal checks of conductors, insulators and structures without climbing or helicopters.
- Powerline & Pipeline Inspections →Energy & Utilities →
- Purified Water Cleaning
- Using deionized or reverse-osmosis water that dries spot-free on glass, the standard for drone window washing.
- Commercial Drone Window Washing →
[ R ]
- Radiometric Thermal
- Thermal imagery where each pixel records an actual temperature value, allowing measured analysis.
- Thermal Imaging & FLIR Infrared →
- RTK / PPK
- GPS correction methods that give drone imagery centimetre-level positioning for surveying.
- Surveying & LiDAR →LiDAR Topographic Surveys →
[ S ]
- Safety Perimeter
- The controlled area kept clear of the public below a drone operation — ClearHorizon uses at least 5 metres.
- Commercial Drone Cleaning & Soft Washing →
- Soft Washing
- Low-pressure cleaning with detergents to remove algae, mould and grime without damaging siding or roofing.
- Commercial Drone Cleaning & Soft Washing →Condo & Apartment Exterior Cleaning →
- Solar Panel Inspection
- Thermal drone scans that find failed cells, hot spots and soiling across solar arrays.
- Solar Panel Thermal Inspections →
- Spalling
- Concrete or brick flaking and breaking away, usually from freeze-thaw cycles and trapped moisture.
- Commercial Exterior & Façade Inspections →
- Stockpile Volumetrics
- Measuring the volume of gravel, sand, grain or other stockpiles from a drone survey.
- Stockpile Volume Measurement →Industrial Facilities, Manufacturing & Warehousing →
- Storm Damage Assessment
- Fast drone documentation of hail, wind and ice damage after a storm, before anyone climbs a roof.
- Rapid Post-Storm Damage Assessment →
- Substation Thermography
- Thermal scans of transformers, breakers and connections to find overheating components.
- Electrical & Mechanical Thermography →
[ T ]
- Thermal Imaging
- Capturing heat patterns to find energy loss, moisture, insulation gaps and electrical faults.
- Thermal Imaging & FLIR Infrared →Building Envelope Thermal Audits →
- Topographic Survey
- A map of ground elevations and features used for design, grading and drainage planning.
- LiDAR Topographic Surveys →
- Tower Inspection
- Inspecting telecom, water and other towers by drone so climbers don't have to go up.
- Tower, Bridge & Stack Inspections →
[ W ]
- Wet Insulation
- Roof insulation soaked by leaks; it shows up in thermal scans because it holds heat differently than dry insulation.
- Thermal Roof Moisture Detection →
- Wind Turbine Inspection
- Close-up drone imaging of blades, towers and nacelles to find erosion, cracks and lightning damage.
- Wind Turbine Inspections →Energy & Utilities →
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