Placer River Bridge inspection using UAV and multi-scale image-based 3D reconstruction
-
A new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based inspection methodology was developed to generate highly detailed 3D models of large-scale infrastructure systems
-
A custom designed and built multi-rotor UAV platform was utilized to provide maximum stability in variable weather conditions
-
The Placer River timber truss bridge was chosen as the test site for prototyping and testing the new UAV bridge inspection method
-
UAV acquired images were used to feasibly generate a highly accurate and dense 3D scene with almost 1.5 billion points
-
The final dense 3D point cloud was qualitatively and quantitively compared against the model acquired from a LiDAR system
-
Due to the high accuracy and completeness of the generated model, it is possible to conduct visual NBIS structural integrity evaluation using the high-fidelity 3D virtual environment

Related Publications
-
Khaloo, A., Lattanzi, D., Cunningham, K., Dell’Andrea, R., and Riley, M. (2017) "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Inspection of the Placer River Trail Bridge through Image-Based 3D Modeling," Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15732479.2017.1330891.

U.S Forest Service Grant No. 15-CS-11100100-015