Field Applicability of Earthwork Volume Calculations Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

The earthwork volume must be calculated as accurately as possible for economical construction and cost savings. In particular, when calculating the areas and volumes of irregular curved terrains such as mountains, reservoirs, lakes, and coasts, the vertical assumptions for the boundary equation must be rationally and systematically established. This study focuses on earthwork volume calculation technology using UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). UAV can be used for various types of work, including checking the progress of construction at construction sites and calculating the earthwork volume for large areas. However, earthwork volume calculation technology using UAV is inefficient in terms of information production, management, and reuse because the quantitative guidelines for UAV operations are insufficient, and the output quality, analysis method, and analysis results differ. To solve these problems, the authors investigated an earthwork volume calculation method for construction sites that use UAV to automate the on-site calculation of construction errors and support an on-site monitoring system using building information modeling (BIM). To calculate the earthwork volume of the target site, a chain method with a planned plane map based on the average end-area method was used as a representative earthwork volume calculation method. The digital surface model method was applied to review the optimization of the earthwork volume calculation using UAV. This study is a process of analyzing construction data, and aims to strengthen the linkage of 3D data and provide construction management information specialized in excavation work. Through this earthwork analysis using UAV, it is possible to intuitively review the progress of earthwork in 3D by linking the current site with the planned plane.