A method for controlling a plurality of drones to survey a location, the method comprising, at a computing system: automatically generating preliminary' flight plans for a plurality of drones to survey the location based on a 3D model; receiving survey data from the plurality of drones as the plurality of drones are surveying the location based on the preliminary flight plans: updating the 3D model based on the survey data received from the plurality of drones; and automatically updating at least a portion of the flight plans based on the updated 3D model.