The results are in. After reviewing 81 exceptional submissions from 15+ countries spanning construction, energy, agriculture, education and environmental sciences, we're proud to announce the winners of our fourth annual DroneDeploy Awards.
These organizations prove that reality capture isn't just another tool – it's the foundation for safer jobsites, smarter workflows and measurable operational improvements. They've moved beyond pilots to enterprise-wide deployment, transforming how their industries build, inspect and operate.
Winners were celebrated at our Horizons After Dark event in Newport Beach, where the reality capture community gathered to recognize the year's most impactful implementations. Here are the companies and individuals who set the standard for 2025.
Operational Excellence: Skanska
Skanska wins for scaling reality capture from a single drone in 2015 to 100+ certified pilots across the U.S. Their program demonstrates what systematic adoption looks like – structured training academies, enterprise-wide standards and field engagement that drives reductions in rework and improved QA/QC.
The company's approach proves that when you commit to scaling innovation across an entire organization, reality capture becomes more than a project tool. It becomes competitive advantage.
Steward of Sustainability: The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy takes this award for their kelp restoration work across more than 15 acres. Using reality capture technology with partners, they're tracking biodiversity improvements, monitoring urchin removal effectiveness and measuring canopy growth increases.
Their work shows that environmental impact requires data, not just good intentions. Reality capture provides the metrics needed to measure conservation success and prove that restoration efforts work.
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Innovation of the Year: Joeris General Contractors
Joeris earns this recognition for developing a 360° crawlspace inspection robot that eliminates dangerous manual inspections. The solution combines robotics with reality capture to solve a real field challenge – keeping workers out of hazardous confined spaces while maintaining thorough documentation.
This is innovation that matters. Not technology for its own sake, but tools that directly improve worker safety while delivering better project outcomes.
Community and Workforce Development: FlyGuys
FlyGuys is expanding access to the drone economy by training pilots from underrepresented communities and building partnerships with HBCUs. Their work addresses a critical industry challenge – diversifying the pipeline of qualified drone professionals – while equipping the next generation with the skills to support construction, energy, and infrastructure sectors with advanced aerial data capture.
DroneDeploy Champion: Meg Wilson, Waste Management
Meg Wilson from Waste Management wins for supporting advanced reporting, scheduling and data practices that scaled drone workflows across WM's massive operational footprint. Her systematic approach transformed scattered adoption into standardized enterprise deployment.
This award recognizes the internal advocates who drive change – the champions who turn pilot programs into operational requirements and prove that reality capture delivers measurable ROI.
Reality Capture Program of the Year
New for 2025, this award recognizes companies setting the standard for scalable, cross-regional reality capture.
Americas – PCL Construction
PCL has built a unified aerial and 360 capture program across every major U.S. region—completing over 10,000 drone flights and capturing more than 45 million images in 2025. With DroneDeploy deployed across ~2,000 projects, their capture standards now guide work in energy, industrial, and commercial sectors.
EMEA – John Paul Construction
John Paul Construction, a prominent international technical contractor delivering commercial and infrastructure projects across the UK and Europe, has been recognized with the Reality Capture Program of the Year (EMEA) award for standardizing DroneDeploy across its projects. Their enterprise-wide implementation has created a unified digital delivery platform, integrating aerial and ground-based reality capture workflows. This commitment to standardization has not only enhanced their site documentation and program governance with a single source of truth, but has also delivered significant efficiency, reducing survey turnaround from days to hours through streamlined as-built verification and progress reporting.
APAC – Programmed
Programmed scaled DroneDeploy across 120+ maintenance sites in Australia and New Zealand. Their use of 3D modeling and site verification has improved job safety and inspection accuracy across a vast, decentralized asset portfolio.
Rising Star – Brian Owens, The Weitz Company
As a VDC & Field Solutions Engineer, Owens integrated DroneDeploy Ground and 360 into every stage of planning and QA/QC—boosting field-to-office coordination by 40% in under a year. His leadership accelerated AI-powered documentation across Weitz’s national portfolio and exemplifies how early adopters are shaping the future of digital construction.
Congratulations to all our winners. Your work sets the standard for what's possible when field teams, technology and commitment align.