scholarly journals POTENTIAL OF UAV-BASED LASER SCANNER AND MULTISPECTRAL CAMERA DATA IN BUILDING INSPECTION

2016 ◽  
Vol XLI-B1 ◽  
pp. 1135-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Mader ◽  
R. Blaskow ◽  
P. Westfeld ◽  
C. Weller
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Heavy Vehicles ◽  
Bridge Inspection ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Cost System ◽  
Thermal Cameras ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

Conventional building inspection of bridges, dams or large constructions in general is rather time consuming and often cost expensive due to traffic closures and the need of special heavy vehicles such as under-bridge inspection units or other large lifting platforms. In consideration that, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will be more reliable and efficient as well as less expensive and simpler to operate. The utilisation of UAVs as an assisting tool in building inspections is obviously. Furthermore, light-weight special sensors such as infrared and thermal cameras as well as laser scanner are available and predestined for usage on unmanned aircraft systems. Such a flexible low-cost system is realized in the ADFEX project with the goal of time-efficient object exploration, monitoring and damage detection. For this purpose, a fleet of UAVs, equipped with several sensors for navigation, obstacle avoidance and 3D object-data acquisition, has been developed and constructed. This contribution deals with the potential of UAV-based data in building inspection. Therefore, an overview of the ADFEX project, sensor specifications and requirements of building inspections in general are given. On the basis of results achieved in practical studies, the applicability and potential of the UAV system in building inspection will be presented and discussed.

scholarly journals POTENTIAL OF UAV-BASED LASER SCANNER AND MULTISPECTRAL CAMERA DATA IN BUILDING INSPECTION

2016 ◽  
Vol XLI-B1 ◽  
pp. 1135-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Mader ◽  
R. Blaskow ◽  
P. Westfeld ◽  
C. Weller
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Heavy Vehicles ◽  
Bridge Inspection ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Cost System ◽  
Thermal Cameras ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

Conventional building inspection of bridges, dams or large constructions in general is rather time consuming and often cost expensive due to traffic closures and the need of special heavy vehicles such as under-bridge inspection units or other large lifting platforms. In consideration that, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will be more reliable and efficient as well as less expensive and simpler to operate. The utilisation of UAVs as an assisting tool in building inspections is obviously. Furthermore, light-weight special sensors such as infrared and thermal cameras as well as laser scanner are available and predestined for usage on unmanned aircraft systems. Such a flexible low-cost system is realized in the ADFEX project with the goal of time-efficient object exploration, monitoring and damage detection. For this purpose, a fleet of UAVs, equipped with several sensors for navigation, obstacle avoidance and 3D object-data acquisition, has been developed and constructed. This contribution deals with the potential of UAV-based data in building inspection. Therefore, an overview of the ADFEX project, sensor specifications and requirements of building inspections in general are given. On the basis of results achieved in practical studies, the applicability and potential of the UAV system in building inspection will be presented and discussed.

Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into State Department of Transportation Highway Bridge Inspection Procedures: Challenges, Implications, and Lessons Learned

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110444
Author(s):  
Michael Plotnikov ◽  
John Collura
Keyword(s):  
State Department ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Highway Bridge ◽  
Department Of Transportation ◽  
Bridge Inspection ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bridge Inspections

Rapid proliferation of small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) promises to revolutionize traditional methods used to carry out civil engineering surveys and analyses and conduct physical infrastructure inspections. One of the most promising areas of implementation of innovative UAS technology includes the integration of UAS into current state Department of Transportation (DOT) bridge inspections. While regular bridge inspections are paramount for road user safety, many traditional inspection methods and procedures are cumbersome, expensive, and time consuming; present significant hazards to both the traveling public and the inspection personnel; and are disruptive to normal operations of the transportation facilities. The results of recent studies indicate that UAS can serve as a useful tool in many highway bridge inspection procedures, while significantly reducing costs and time and improving safety. The major factors that affect the success of integrating UAS into the bridge inspection process relate to selection of the proper types of UAS platforms and avionics, data collection sensors and processing software, as well as conduct of task-specific pilot training. The paper provides an examination of current standard bridge inspection procedures and protocols currently carried out by state DOTs; an evaluation of state DOT experiences with the integration of UAS technology into bridge inspections; and an assessment of the issues and challenges associated with this technology. It is expected that this paper will be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders representing state and federal governments, academia, and industry.

scholarly journals A low cost way for assessing bird risk hazards in power lines: Fixed-wing small unmanned aircraft systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
pp. 5-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Mulero-Pázmány ◽  
Juan José Negro ◽  
Miguel Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Power Lines ◽  
Wildlife Monitoring ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Practical Tool ◽  
Conservation Projects ◽  
Technical Solutions

Accidents on power lines are one of the most important causes of man-induced mortality for raptors and soaring birds. The factors that condition the hazard have been extensively studied, and currently there are a variety of technical solutions available to mitigate the risk. Most of the resources in conservation projects to reduce avian mortality now are invested in fieldwork to monitor the lines, which diverts the resources available to install actual corrective measures to mitigate bird hazard. Little progress has been achieved in the methodology to characterize line risk, which is an expensive, tedious, and time-consuming task. In this work we describe the use of low cost small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) equipped with on-board cameras for power line surveillance. As a case study, we characterized four power lines, geo-referenced every pylon in selected portions, and assessed their hazard for birds. We compare the effectiveness of two variants of the sUAS method for data acquisition and two methods of plane control. This work provides evidence of the usefulness of sUAS as a fast, inexpensive, and practical tool in conservation biology, adding to their already known applications in wildlife monitoring, the environmental impact assessment of infrastructures.

scholarly journals Experimental Determination of Low-Cost Servomotor Reliability for Small Unmanned Aircraft Applications

2014 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. 202-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarrow Sarson-Lawrence ◽  
Roberto Sabatini ◽  
Reece Clothier ◽  
Alessandro Gardi
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Test Bench ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Time To Failure ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf

One of the key challenges of designing low-cost Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is to ensure acceptable and certifiable reliability factors for the adopted Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) components since their reliability is often not quantified. In this paper, the experimental results obtained for quantifying the reliability of mini Unmanned Aircraft (UA) servomotors (by recording their time-to-failure on a defined set of test runs) are presented. The Weibull prediction model is adopted for quantitative analysis and the associated key mathematical models. The methodology adopted for performing the reliability analysis including the test bench setup used for the experiments is described. The results indicate a level of reliability expected for low-cost servos. Such servos could be used for low-risk UAS operations (e.g. small UA operating over sparsely populated regions) and where the economics of the business case permitted higher loss rates.

scholarly journals Performance of Hyperspectral Imaging with Drone Swarms

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (45) ◽  
pp. 36-44
Author(s):  
Raj Bridgelall ◽  
James B. Rafert ◽  
Denver D. Tolliver
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Hyperspectral Imaging ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Sensing Platforms ◽  
Spatial Coverage ◽  
Ground Coverage

The ongoing proliferation and diversification of remote sensing platforms offer greater flexibility to select from a range of hyperspectral imagers as payloads. The emergence of low-cost unmanned aircraft systems (drones) and their launch flexibility present an opportunity to maximize spectral resolution while scaling both daily spatial coverage and spatial resolution simultaneously by operating synchronized swarms. This article presents a model to compare the performance of hyperspectral-imaging platforms in their spatial coverage and spatial resolution envelope. The authors develop a data acquisition framework and use the model to compare the achievable performance among existing airborne and spaceborne hyperspectral imaging vehicles and drone swarms. The results show that, subject to cost and operational limitations, a platform implemented with drone swarms has the potential to provide greater spatial resolution for the same daily ground coverage compared with existing airborne platforms.

Plantation Loblolly Pine Seedling Counts with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Corey Green ◽  
Harold E Burkhart
Keyword(s):  
Computer Vision ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Resource Assessment ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Pine Regeneration ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

Abstract Abstract An unmanned aircraft system was evaluated for its potential to capture imagery for use in plantation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) regeneration surveys. Five stands located in the Virginia Piedmont were evaluated. Imagery was collected using a recreational grade unmanned aerial vehicle at three flight heights above ground with a camera capable of capturing red–green–blue imagery. Two computer vision approaches were evaluated for their potential to automatically detect seedlings. The results of the study indicated that the proposed methods were limited in capability of generating reliable counts of seedlings in the locations evaluated. In conditions with low numbers of natural seedlings and sufficiently large planted seedlings, the detection methods performed with higher levels of accuracy. Challenges including global positioning system errors and image distortion made comparisons between ground samples and imagery difficult. In summary, unmanned aircraft systems have potential for use in plantation pine regeneration surveys if the challenges encountered can be addressed. Study Implications: Following the establishment of a pine plantation, it is important to estimate survival and possible recruitment of natural conifers. As the popularity of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) has increased, forest managers have begun to explore their use for resource assessment. This study investigated using imagery captured with a recreational grade UAS, in conjunction with automated computer vision counting techniques, for use in regeneration surveys. The results of this research indicate that significant challenges must be addressed before UAS can become an integral component of survival assessments. Aircraft constraints, legal restrictions, low image quality, and high levels of natural pine regeneration limited the success of the proposed methods. In selected cases, however, favorable conditions led to accurate detection. Additionally, UAS imagery has the potential for assessing other stand characteristics such as competing vegetation and drainage patterns. Going forward, UAS imagery and automated counting approaches have the potential to supplement, but not fully replace, ground regeneration surveys if the challenges encountered in this study can be addressed.

scholarly journals Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for Bridge Inspection Safety

Drones ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Bryan Hubbard ◽  
Sarah Hubbard
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Department Of Transportation ◽  
Bridge Inspection ◽  
Potential Harm ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Excellent Tool

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are an excellent tool to remove bridge inspection workers from potential harm. Previous research has documented that UAS for bridge inspection is a strategic priority of a state’s Department of Transportation (DOT), and this paper presents how they can increase safety and presents one methodology to quantify the economic benefit. Although previous studies have documented the potential benefits of using UAS for bridge inspection, these studies have primarily focused on efficiency and capabilities. This paper investigates in greater detail the potential to use UAS to increase the safety of bridge inspection, and includes the results of a survey of bridge inspectors, as well as a benefit cost methodology that utilizes worker compensation rates to quantify the safety benefits of UAS; the methodology is demonstrated using a case study for a DOT. The results of this research present evidence that UAS can increase the safety of bridge inspection, and the benefit–cost methodology and analysis suggest that using UAS to increase safety will provide benefits that are greater than agency costs.

scholarly journals Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Bridge Inspection: A Review

DYNA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 88 (217) ◽  
pp. 32-41
Author(s):  
Didier Aldana Rodriguez ◽  
Diego Leonardo Ávila Granados ◽  
Jorge Armando Villalba-Vidales
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Bridge Inspection ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Levels Of Automation ◽  
Different Levels

This review describes the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for bridge inspection, with an emphasis on Multi-rotor UAS. It depicts the different levels of automation and autonomy during UAS operation and what levels are achieved during inspections. A description of the payload of UAS consisting of the equipment required to acquire data and images is included. It also contains a compendium of the techniques used to create models from images in order to detect failures and perform Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) through techniques, such as: 3D reconstruction, infrared thermography, Structure From Motion (SFM), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and others. The software required to apply the mentioned techniques is also mentioned. It subsequently explains the generation of mathematical models to characterize the multirotor and generate efficient trajectories. Finally, the review concludes by describing the operational limitations of UAS and future challenges.

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