How can a quarry, plant or yard use drone photos and computer vision to track stockpiles of sand, gravel, wood chips or other bulk material?

---
title: "How to estimate stockpile volumes from drone photos with computer vision"
description: "Fly the same drone route over the yard on a set schedule, build a 3D surface from the overlapping photos, and use a model trained on the site own images to outline each pile and tag the material. The tool then estimates each pile volume against a base surface, so the yard manager can see how piles change between flights. These are estimates that depend on photo quality, ground control and the base surface, so a qualified surveyor checks the setup and spot checks results before they are used for inventory counts or financial reporting."
url: https://lidvizion.ai/answers/how-to-estimate-stockpile-volumes-from-drone-photos-with-computer-vision/
site: Lid Vizion
index: https://lidvizion.ai/llms.txt
---

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# How can a quarry, plant or yard use drone photos and computer vision to track stockpiles of sand, gravel, wood chips or other bulk material?

Fly the same drone route over the yard on a set schedule, build a 3D surface from the overlapping photos, and use a model trained on the site own images to outline each pile and tag the material. The tool then estimates each pile volume against a base surface, so the yard manager can see how piles change between flights. These are estimates that depend on photo quality, ground control and the base surface, so a qualified surveyor checks the setup and spot checks results before they are used for inventory counts or financial reporting.

## What this means in practice

- Set a fixed flight route, height and overlap, plus ground control points, so each flight can be compared
- Agree on a base surface for each pile area with a qualified surveyor
- Train the model on the site own images to outline piles and tag each material
- Compare pile estimates between flights and flag large or unexpected changes for a person to check
- Have a qualified surveyor spot check results on a schedule before numbers feed inventory or financial reports

## How Lid Vizion approaches it

We start with the business decision and operating context, define ownership and measurable milestones, then use configuration, integrations, automation, or custom software only where each earns its place.

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