Towards the Development of a Complex Structural Inspection System Using Small-Scale Aerial Vehicles and Image Processing

Inspections of structures such as bridges and high mast lightning (HML) and support poles are crucial to the maintenance and safety of transportation infrastructures. Government agencies rely on inspections to estimate the health of structures and make decisions-such as allocation of human resources and funds to maintain\repair the structures-that significantly affect public safety and costs. This paper describes a work-in-progress towards the development of a highly complex system capable of assisting structural inspectors during the inspection process. The authors present the conceptual design of a complex system capable of acquiring and processing image data of structures in near real-time efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. The completion of this highly complex system requires a robust systems engineering approach that integrates the software engineering, mobile technology, small-scale aerial vehicles, and transportation engineering disciplines.