• Cost and time taken to erect scaffolding, hiring cherry pickers etc.
• Safety concerns with working at height and rope access
• Disruption caused to asset owner
• Consistency of decision making

UAVs have been shown to offer massive advantages over traditional methods by being able to capture high resolution aerial imagery from a variety of angles. The main objective of this is to provide a “high level” survey to highlight problematic areas, so that a survey team is only deployed where absolutely necessary.

Studying aerial imagery will only give a limited amount of information about a defect and thereafter a survey team may be required to go directly to the defect and take measurements to determine if work is required. So although aerial imagery is extremely beneficial, there may still a substantial cost involved with further surveying of the defect to check if it poses a risk.

Remote Aerial Surveys has been working with Severn Trent Water in order to develop specialist UAV services to enable them to inspect the condition of cracks in the buttresses of one of their dams. Input from Severn Trent has been invaluable in developing the service and we look forward to continuing to work with them to further develop the service. The work carriedout to date included capturing high resolution imagery to scope out potential problems on the face of the dam and then modelling these areas with higher detail to enable 3D analysis of the defects.

This service allows asset owners to model their defect in 3D with extremely high levels of detail. Data can be analysed either as a 3D point cloud or as a mesh in a variety of different software programs (including GIS and CAD). Cross sections of the defect are extracted, and checked against client supplied thresholds using specialist techniques.

Click here to see a short video animation showing a point cloud of one of these defects

Measurement  tolerances have been demonstrated down to a single millimeter, meaning that even small defects can be analysed effectively. All of this information can then be compiled into a report which tells the client exactly what defects exist and the status of those defects. Cross-sections are also provided to allow the client to verify the measurements taken.

If you would like more information on how this service can assist your business and aid your decision making, please email us or speak to one of our team on 01444 401840 who can provide you with more information.