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Wind-Tolerant, Autonomous Drones Could Cut Bridge Inspection Costs by 30%
(researchinenglish.com)
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this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2024
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Either bridge inspectors get paid a hell of a lot less per hour than I think they do, or the company doing the drone inspections is way overcharging. One relatively inexperienced pilot could fly the full structure of the bridge throw it into point cloud software and drop off a highly detailed 3d model of every inch of the bridge to be inspected from the comfort of someone's desk.
No OSHA, no driving a crane truck, no having to retract and re-extend the bucket around every structural element, no netting, no walkways or temporary bridges needing to be made.
I'm no expert on inspecting bridges, but I'd think that you still would need a professional inspector to do the inspecting, only that they would save the time of actually travelling out to the bridge themselves and instead could do it in their office, no?
And then there are probably things which still need to be done on site, such as non-visual inspections (ultrasound, X-Ray, Vibration testing, Tourque measuring on bolts, paint thickness,...? IDK)
Not just travel time, but also climbing around on the bridge itself.
at the very least they would identify all the parts that need to be looked at in person.
The amount of time it takes a body to hand inspect every inch should be the lions share of the time. if it's not, you need a new bridge :)
Visual inspection is an important starting point to determine if you need more extensive testing. You get a sense of the area, bridge type, and age of the bridge. This would be great for younger bridges that are low risk but should have a visual once over every couple years or so.
30% cost reduction vs current drone systems which can't tolerate wind. I'm guessing more air+recharge time, damaged drones, skilled pilots, etc. all add up