Crack detection for bridge inspection utilizing UAV photogrammetry technique

Abstract

With the expansion of transportation networks, road networks are also growing, resulting in an increased usage of bridges. Consequently, there will also be an increase in bridge deformations due to increased crossings. Inspecting bridges incurs significant maintenance costs. As a promising strategy to safeguard bridges, a bridge inspection method using UAVs with vision sensors is proposed. Crack identification methods on historic concrete bridges are investigated in this paper using a high-resolution vision sensor attached to a commercial UAV. In the preflight, a photorealistic 3D model based on point cloud is created before detecting cracks on the structural surface and calculating their thicknesses and lengths. A field experiment was performed to authenticate the suggested method, and the scientific findings demonstrated the efficacy of bridge inspection using UAVs in detecting and quantifying cracks in infrastructure.