Exploring the Potential Utility of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Practical Bridge Inspection in Louisiana

Paul Darby,William Hollerman,John Miller,H Sadek

doi:10.1051/matecconf/201927101001

Paul Darby, William Hollerman + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201927101001

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Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), especially those allowing programmed flight paths, with stops and hovering, e.g. the quad and hex rotor drones, have gathered attention in recently for as their potential use in certain envisioned applications that may be difficult, expensive, or dangerous to do manually. One poignant use case important to the State of Louisiana is that of bridge inspection. In the Lafayette District of LADOTD alone, more than 1600 bridges require annual inspection. In this paper, considerations and criteria important UAV-based bridge inspection in Louisiana are researched and analyzed; experiments with actual UAVs are conducted, and findings provide insight into the problem and potential solutions. The conclusion recommends further research items.

Highlights

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), i.e. capable of programmed flight paths and to stop and hover while carrying high-resolution cameras, e.g. quad and hexrotor aircraft, a.k.a. drones, are a relatively new technology sparking interest and investigation into this technology’s possible applications
The plan was to analyze quantitative data in an objective way. It included an investigation of other similar investigations [3, 7], appropriate instrumentation and the performance qualities of the UAVs themselves as they relate to the process of bridge inspection, and an investigation of FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulatory requirements with bearing on this topic [8]
∑ CUAV = Ri × Wi i=1 (1) 4 Experimental results where CUAV is the calculated alternatives and tradeoffs A UAV equipped with instruments operating near a overall ranking of a given UAV-instrument combination bridge always has the potential to encounter some from the pool of considered alternatives, Ri is the rating of the UAV-instrument combination with respect to metric i, and Wi is the weight, or importance assigned mishap, i.e. crashing into a tree or the bridge structure itself, due to a wind gust or some onboard component failure

Summary

Introduction

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), i.e. capable of programmed flight paths and to stop and hover while carrying high-resolution cameras, e.g. quad and hexrotor aircraft, a.k.a. drones, are a relatively new technology sparking interest and investigation into this technology’s possible applications. These range from inspecting the power grid or highways, and gathering traffic flow data for analysis, to inspection of high-rise towers, along with agricultural and hydrological surveys of farms and watersheds, to name a few. One-use case gaining attention recently in state governments is the UAV’s potential for bridge inspection. Federal requirements drive states to inspect and report on all bridges annually. Inspections are a manual process, coming with certain safety risks, and are costly in human and equipment resources

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Conclusion