DL E&C has launched a groundbreaking initiative by becoming the first in Korea’s construction sector to implement a drone-based digital twin platform across all residential construction sites, opening a new chapter in smart construction.
On July 28, DL E&C announced its partnership with Meissa, a specialized company in smart construction platforms, to develop and deploy the drone platform nationwide for residential projects. Meissa is the only Korean company possessing advanced 3D mapping engine technology.
Digital twin technology creates real-time virtual replicas of physical objects or sites. In construction, it enables the virtual recreation of a site’s ‘twin,’ which can be used to oversee construction quality, safety, design accuracy, maintenance, and overall project management.
The newly adopted drone platform visualizes construction sites in 3D by utilizing data collected from regular aerial surveys. This allows for intuitive understanding of progress, process status, and site conditions. Additionally, it offers precise measurement of slopes, areas, and distances, and compares real-time data with design drawings, significantly improving construction accuracy.
One major advantage is the correction of previous inaccuracies in earthwork volume calculations, which relied solely on truck movement data. With the drone system’s automated calculations based on aerial data, the accuracy has markedly improved, contributing to more strict cost control and productivity gains.
Beyond residential sites, DL E&C is applying this technology at civil engineering and plant construction sites, and is also leveraging it during project bidding to analyze site conditions. The company plans to further enhance the system by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically detect risks and errors on-site and enable real-time responses.
A company representative stated, “Our drone-based digital twin platform is an innovative tool that simultaneously enhances construction quality, safety, and productivity,” adding, “By integrating AI and Building Information Modeling (BIM), we will further strengthen DL E&C’s smart construction capabilities and competitiveness.”
