Setting guidelines for performance evaluation standards for bridge inspection UAVs

NAGOYA-Japan, January, 2018 – PRODRONE Co., Ltd, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Fujitsu Limited, NEC Corporation, iXs Research Corp., and enRoute Co., Ltd. have conducted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight test in Togane, Chiba Prefecture. The test aims to set guidelines for performance evaluation standards for UAVs used in bridge inspections.

Considering the lack of labors, effective and efficient infrastructure inspection is needed in the future society. One of the solutions is to utilize UAV to inspect aging bridge. To succeed it, setting guidelines for performance evaluation standards is important and urgent task.

In this test, an UAV flew around a model bridge at the demonstration facility, demonstrating the validity of the testing method for performance evaluations, in accordance with the inspection process for the model bridge and the measurement system necessary for the evaluation. It also demonstrated the validity of the testing environment for performance evaluations of flight stability that take into account disturbances such as wind. We were able to sample many warning signs, which contribute to future quantified criteria.

We endeavor to contribute to set guidelines for UAV performance evaluation standards applied for bridge inspection by utilizing this valuable data.

For more information, visit at: http://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_100895.html