Category Archives: Construction

Inspection Trials of Delaware Memorial Bridge Using Drone Technology

DMBInspect_uas1The Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) recently conducted an inspection of the Delaware Memorial Bridge Twin Span using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) or drone. Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc., based at Northeast Philadelphia Airport, in cooperation with WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff, utilized an Inspire Pro 1 and Maverik X8 to perform the inspection services for DRBA as a test of the technology. The test inspection flights occurred on the New Jersey side of the Bridge complex on Tuesday, April 5.  Continue reading

Common UAV Software May Not (Yet) Be Reliable for Building Safety or Damage Assessment

Anomalies

Researchers at Texas A&M and University of Nebraska-Lincoln have found that popular software packages for creating photo mosaics of disasters from imagery taken by small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) may contain anomalies that prevent its use for reliably determining if a building is safe to enter or estimating the cost of damage. Continue reading

Minnesota DoT Testing Drones for Bridge Inspections

Minnesota“We do underneath rope access inspections,” said Barritt Lovelace, a regional manager for Collins Engineers Inc., an agency headquartered in Chicago with offices throughout the country. “Basically, we rock-climb bridges. It’s a lot of fun.” In Duluth recently, Lovelace stood with a host of others below the Blatnik Bridge to participate in a demonstration of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s ongoing study of using drones for bridge inspection purposes.

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