SmartDrone to Showcase Magellan™ at TxDOT Geospatial Conference

SAN MARCOS, Texas, Nov. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartDrone Corporation will showcase Magellan™, its NDAA-compliant survey drone, at the TxDOT Geospatial Conference, November 18-20 at Texas State University's LBJ Student Center.

This year's conference expands beyond traditional mapping to unite Right of Way, Photogrammetry, Digital Delivery, and Design professionals under the theme "More Than Maps," which explores how location-based technology is reshaping transportation infrastructure across Texas.

CEO Rob Cammack and Co-Founder Taylor Dixon will attend to demonstrate how Magellan™ solves the compliance, equipment durability, and workflow challenges faced by today's land surveyors.

"Survey teams are being asked to deliver more data, on tighter timelines, with increasing compliance pressure," said CEO Rob Cammack. "What they don't need is another complicated platform that slows them down, risks downtime in the field, or requires a drone expert to operate. Magellan™ was built to streamline the entire workflow—reliable hardware, protected sensors, and a system crews can easily use and trust to perform every day."

No Drone Expert Required

Magellan™ was developed around one of the biggest challenges facing survey firms today: staffing shortages. Survey crews are stretched thin, and most firms can't afford to hire a dedicated drone specialist just to operate complex, fragile, or highly technical platforms. Magellan™ eliminates that barrier entirely—any trained survey technician can fly it confidently within a single day.

By fully enclosing both the LiDAR and camera payloads, the system removes the delicate gimbals, swappable components, and expert-only workflows that slow down traditional drone operations. Crews spend less time worrying about equipment handling and more time collecting the data they need.

"Staffing shortages are the number one issue I hear from surveyors across the country," said CEO Rob Cammack. "When we designed Magellan™, we knew it couldn't be a system that required you to hire a UAV specialist. It had to be something your existing team could put in the air on day one—reliably, safely, and without the learning curve that slows projects down. That priority shaped every decision we made."

Magellan™ operates from 32°F to 110°F, flies in winds up to 20 mph, and captures LiDAR and photo data simultaneously during flights up to 39 minutes. In field testing, standard survey crews—not drone experts—have mapped 1,500 acres in a single day.

American-Built, NDAA-Compliant, and Backed by U.S. Support

Manufactured in Tyler, Texas, Magellan™ delivers 0.15' (~4 cm) absolute accuracy using all major GNSS constellations. Its LiDAR system generates 5.2 million points per second and covers 150 acres per flight, significantly reducing time in the air.

Magellan™ also answers growing concerns about compliance and reliance on foreign-made drone systems. As an NDAA-compliant platform with fully domestic manufacturing and support, every unit gives surveyors confidence that their hardware, supply chain, and service teams are all based in the United States. Each system includes direct U.S.-based technical support and integrates seamlessly with AutoCAD, Civil 3D, ArcGIS, Carlson, Trimble, and Global Mapper.

"When you pick up the phone for help, you're talking to the same people who had their hands on the platform during development and assembly—right here in Texas," said Co-Founder Taylor Dixon. "That level of support matters, especially for firms working on critical infrastructure projects where downtime simply isn't an option."

Conference attendees will have the opportunity to see Magellan™ up close and speak directly with the SmartDrone team about their surveying needs.

Pre-Order Offer Now Open

Pre-orders are now open here with a $100 refundable deposit and $5,000 off the launch price. The pre-order package ($49,999, regular price $54,999) includes the complete system: drone, transport case, controller, batteries, Pulse Data Processor, and full warranty coverage.

"Magellan™ isn't a drone for everyone," Dixon added. "It is purpose-built for land surveyors who need a tool that their current crews can use, is reliable in the field, and has support they can actually reach. If that's your situation, we'd like to show you what we built."

About the 2025 TxDOT Geospatial Conference

The TxDOT Geospatial Conference brings together transportation and geospatial professionals from across Texas to explore how spatial technology is shaping the future of infrastructure. This year's expanded event runs November 18-20, 2025, at the LBJ Student Center, Texas State University, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666.

About SmartDrone Corporation

SmartDrone Corporation is a Texas-based industrial drone manufacturer and nationwide drone mapping service provider founded in 2020. The company specializes in American-made LiDAR and photogrammetry-equipped industrial mapping drones, purpose-built for land surveying and civil engineering workflows. Its products and services support operations in 28 states.

Learn more about Magellan™ at https://www.smartdrone.us/products/magellan.

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SOURCE SmartDrone Corporation