How Can Bridge Inspection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Useful for the Infrastructure?

The primacy of technical superiority of drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is well-known. Their use in countless activities is very impressive. Experts use them in round-the-clock monitoring of traffic movements. Intelligence agencies of many countries use drones for aerial espionage on the territory of a target nation. In fact, drones also serve their covert operations in counter-intelligence.

In truth, the small yet powerful technology is designed to accomplish most of the tasks successfully.

Now we see the utility of drone inspection for bridges. The reason is drones streamline the collection of valuable details about a bridge. Inspectors conducting an inspection get reliable benefits through this technology. A drone employed to inspect the bridge fetches infrared and 3-D modeling data of the infrastructure. It generates compelling details about topographic mapping and delamination of the property. Inspectors get to know about the upstream and downstream mapping of the riverbank near the “drone-surveyed” bridge site.

One can only imagine the extent of enormous infrastructure loss that the absence of bridge inspection using dedicated drones would invite!

As a matter of fact – UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are crucial machines. As a part of robotic technology, they simplify safer inspection of infrastructure assets for the right type of job. The information they provide can lead to the long-term preservation of the assets by locating issues early.

Sophisticated drones accurately determine the structural conditions of a bridge on the surface by visual means and with lidar. They can be covered underneath the bridge to fetch helpful details in places that are hard to get to and, in some cases, never get inspected. Equipped with ultrasonic sensors and powerful cameras, modern drones can intuitively gather pictorial details and information about the bridge, helping inspectors to determine the exact condition of the infrastructure and whether it requires repair due to the extent of damage shown. Basically, Drone Inspections For Bridges eliminates any inconclusive reasoning that would lead to not inspecting a component of the bridge because it is too far away or too expensive and inconvenient to close a lane and rent a snooper truck. The purpose behind the deployment of drones is to ensure the safety of the infrastructure and the safety of the inspectors and traveling public.

It can be an efficient help for handling both fractures critical and special bridge inspections, considering the technology eliminates unnecessary fear of the loss of human resources in case of any eventuality when the inspection is conducted via rope access by inspectors in order to detect any foreseeable damage or structural fault in the bridge.

Even though under-bridge inspection vehicles like snoopers are employed to carry out bridge inspections, there is no denying the fact that such deployment necessitates lots of coordination pertaining to traffic management at the bridge site, resulting in an undeniable risk for the inspectors. Moreover, such labor-intensive tasks can pile financial pressure on the company, thus prompting them to seek a viable alternative. UAS inspection is that viable alternative that results in constructive details helpful for a thorough inspection, plus drone inspections for bridge alleviates exorbitant costs on labor.

Drones are small yet sophisticated technologies used to gather substantial details about a bridge leading to its complete, necessary, and reliable inspection, which is both safe and cost-effective.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) did a great deal of research on drones for bridge inspections in 2008. The team developed an electric-operated Aerobot, but the twin-motored drone underwent an implementation issue and couldn’t be officially deployed. However, it exemplified the growing necessity of drones as an unmistakable tool for drone inspections of bridges.

Conclusively, bridge inspection using drones can quantify benefits in terms of eliminating labor costs, manual inspection, and risks involved, as well as expediting the process for reliable details leading to the safer and risk-free inspection of a precious infrastructure.

Infraspect, Infraspect is a nondestructive testing and robotic engineering company specializing in transportation infrastructure. An early adopter of drone technology, Infraspect quickly realized a better, more accurate solution would be needed to assess the infrastructure properly. In 2009 they developed the first robotic services that are more accurate and provide more detailed information than drones alone. Drones are a great “tool” in the inspector’s toolbox, says Doug Thaler of Infraspect. “Drones have their place for hard-to-reach places and special inspections, but for real quantitative data, I prefer the nondestructive testing robotics that is much more accurate and provides better information for the department of transportation to more accurately allocate assets and keep our infrastructure safe.” Infraspect continues to use drones but is out of the line of sight of the traveling public.