Digital Transformation Through Drones and LiDAR: Revolutionizing the Grand Canyon National Park Water System Project

This case study will explore the first-ever commercial drone operations permitted within the rim of the Grand Canyon, and how the imagery captured was used to inform a critical water infrastructure project. Grand Canyon National Park, in Northern Arizona, is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It encompasses an impressive 278 miles of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands and averages more than 10 miles wide. To support work to modernize the Grand Canyon Water System—which serves thousands of residents and millions of annual visitors—we used drones, surveying, and LiDAR technology to acquire high-resolution orthomosaic images and point clouds. In this digital transformation success story, we also employed Autodesk tools such as AutoCAD Civil, ReCap, Revit, and other Autodesk products.