Development of an Integrated Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Validation Center

This pooled-fund study proposes to develop the standards, protocols, and testing requirements that a given unmanned aerial systems (UAS) must meet and demonstrate for a particular application. As an example, considerations regarding UAS deployment for bridge inspection may include (but are not limited to) the following: (1) Safety in constrained locations where line of site is limited, (2) Imaging system performance in poorly lit environments, (3) Control of the UAS while flying between large steel girders, (4) Adequate resolution of the imaging system for detecting the damage of interest. The objectives of the study are two-fold: Development of the specific criteria a given UAS must meet for each particular application and Determining how to validate that a given UAS meets the required criteria. The current industry is unregulated with regard to establishing the required level of performance for UAS in civil engineering applications. The results of this study will be the development of the performance measures and validation criteria that agencies can use when making decisions about deployment of UAS in the context of civil engineering.

• Record URL:
  http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/639
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Per 12/31/23 progress report, time extension requested.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $700000
• Contract Numbers:

  TPF-5(387)

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Georgia Department of Transportation

  600 West Peachtree St
  Atlanta, GA  United States  30308

  Delaware Department of Transportation

  800 S Bay Road
  P.O. Box 778
  Dover, DE  United States  19903

  Virginia Department of Transportation

  1408 E Broad Street
  Richmond, VA  United States  23219

  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

  Keystone Building
  400 North Street
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120

  Minnesota Department of Transportation

  Transportation Building
  395 John Ireland Boulevard
  St Paul, MN  United States  55155

  Michigan Department of Transportation

  Van Wagoner Building
  425 W. Ottawa Street
  Lansing, MI  United States  48909

  Illinois Department of Transportation

  2300 S. Dirksen Parkway
  Springfield, IL  United States  62764

  California Department of Transportation

  1227 O Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95814

  Utah Department of Transportation

  4501 South 2700 West
  Project Development
  Salt Lake City, UT  United States  84114-8380
• Managing Organizations:

  Indiana Department of Transportation

  1101 State Office Building
  Indianapolis, IN  United States  46204
• Project Managers:

  Rearick, Anne

• Start Date: 20180901
• Expected Completion Date: 20240229
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Civil engineering; Drones; Inspection; Performance measurement; Standards; Validation
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01709892
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Contract Numbers: TPF-5(387)
• Files: RIP, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 1 2019 9:13PM