Abstract
Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) constitute a rapidly evolving technology field that is becoming more accessible and capable of supplementing, expanding, and even replacing some traditionally manual bridge inspections. Given the classification of the bridge inspection types as initial, routine, in-depth, damage, special, and fracture critical members, specific UAV mission requirements can be developed, and their suitability for UAV application examined. Results of a review of 23 applications of UAVs in bridge inspections indicate that mission sensor and payload needs dictate the UAV configuration and size, resulting in quadcopter configurations being most suitable for visual camera inspections (43% of visual inspections use quadcopters), and hexa- and octocopter configurations being more suitable for higher payload hyperspectral, multispectral, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) inspections (13%). In addition, the number of motors and size of the aircraft are the primary drivers in the cost of the vehicle. 75% of vehicles rely on GPS for navigation, and none of them are capable of contact inspections. Factors that limit the use of UAVs in bridge inspections include the UAV endurance, the capability of navigation in GPS deprived environments, the stability in confined spaces in close proximity to structural elements, and the cost. Current research trends in UAV technologies address some of these limitations, such as obstacle detection and avoidance methods, autonomous flight path planning and optimization, and UAV hardware optimization for specific mission requirements.
Highlights
The aging and degradation of civil and industrial infrastructures have posed a notable public safety threat [1]
Vertical takeoff and landing capability and the ability to hover in place during flight, an enhanced ability to fly close to structures while maintaining a fixed, safe standoff distance, a stabilizing gimbal that can alter the camera pointing angle to any vertical angle, and a camera equipped with an optical zoom for capturing high-resolution imagery while at a safe standoff distance represent parameters and vehicle characteristics suitable for bridge inspections [33]
Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV)-enabled bridge inspection techniques offer a promising alternative to conventional practices
Summary
The aging and degradation of civil and industrial infrastructures have posed a notable public safety threat [1]. The inspection and assessment of these infrastructures are essential for the early detection of possible complications with minimum interruption in operation [8]. Takeaafew fewhours hours and and might extend to Visual intake to several several days daysof ofwork workinina atypical typicalbridge Visual spection isisusually such as ashammer hammersounding soundingand and inspection usually completed completed using using simple equipment such chaindragging draggingfor for detecting surface defects. The report the summarizes the inspecregarding deteriorated areas, defect locations, and a condition inspected elements. UAVs have emerged as a viable and promising option to facilitate and expand bridge inspection activity and overcome the challenges of conventional bridge inspection [17–21] Their use can both expedite current visual-based inspections and enable more advanced multi-sensor approaches [22].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
