How Drones can be Useful for Aerial Bridge Inspections
Australia is home to almost 1 million km of road networks which are connected by over 50,000 bridges. Ensuring our bridges are maintained correctly is essential not only to keep the country moving but also to ensure the safety of the millions of people using these bridges every single day. Therefore, it is crucial that bridge inspections are conducted frequently and accurately with the ability to record deterioration easily to enable quick decision making for maintenance or monitoring.
Access to all areas of the bridge is much easier using a drone than other traditional methods. These other methods may actually leave gaps in the data recorded due to their inability to access an area properly which can result in missing defects and ultimately lead to costly repairs down the track or even injury and loss of life.
Safety is increased substantially when using drones to inspect bridges due the elimination of the requirement to put an inspector in a dangerous position or at height
Time & Cost is also greatly reduced due to the efficiency of the process which allows for more frequent inspections. This allows for defects to be detected earlier before they turn into larger issues.
Quality of Data provided by drone bridge inspections is truly incredible depending in the equipment and process used and provides a level of context that is unprecedented. The value received from the high quality imagery paired with visualisation reporting software is an enormous asset to any inspection and maintenance process.
What type of Inspection is Required for your Needs
Inspection deliverables are tailored to the requirements of each aerial bridge inspection. Depending on the level of detail and analysis that is necessary there are different options available.
Our drone bridge inspections are able to detect issues such as corrosion, concrete cancer, carbonation, water penetration, cracks in elements and joints as well as any buckling and bending. It is also possible to inspect underneath the bridge in and around the girders and columns.
High Resolution Close Visual Inspection:
A series of images are taken of the structure and then processed using inspection management software to allow an easier way to manage the data as opposed to receiving a folder full of images. The images are overlaid onto a 2D map (created during the inspection) and the user is able to move through the images with perspective of where they were taken from. This allows context of knowing precisely where defects are located. Annotations and reports are able to be created to document defects and areas of interest.
3D Model Inspection Tool
The ultimate tool for asset inspection useful for steep roofs and facades of buildings. Using high end drones and processing technology a high resolution digital twin of the structure can be created. The assessor is able to navigate around the structure within the software. This is a complete data set of the asset with no gaps in knowledge which may occur using traditional methods of inspection due to limitations. For even higher detail you can click on a section of the model and bring up the full resolution jpeg images of that area. Measurements can be taken as well as being able to create full defect reports.
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