Enhancing Airport Runway Safety through Drone-Based Inspection Systems

Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) aims to improve the safety and efficiency of airport runway inspections using drone technology. Currently, runway inspections are carried out through manual and vehicle-based methods, which are time-intensive, costly, and may not provide the level of detail necessary for identifying all potential safety issues. Additionally, these methods can disrupt runway operations and pose risks to inspection personnel. Integrating high-accuracy drones equipped with imaging technology and deep learning algorithms provides a solution. By leveraging AI models for automated defect detection and classification, this approach enables KDOT to quickly identify potential hazards, quantify runway conditions, and develop a standardized health index, such as the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), for long-term maintenance planning.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $86,552.00
• Contract Numbers:

  K-TRAN: KU-26-2

  RE-0926-01

  C2258

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Kansas Department of Transportation

  Eisenhower State Office Building
  700 SW Harrison Street
  Topeka, KS  United States  66603-3754
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Kansas Center for Research, Incorporated

  2291 Irving Hill Drive, Campus West
  Lawrence, KS  United States  66045
• Principal Investigators:

  Li, Jian

  Darabi, Masoud

  Bennett, Caroline

• Start Date: 20250801
• Expected Completion Date: 20270731
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport runways; Deep learning; Drones; Flaw detection; Image processing; Inspection equipment
• Identifier Terms: Kansas Department of Transportation
• Geographic Terms: Kansas
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Data and Information Technology; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01976227
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Kansas Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: K-TRAN: KU-26-2, RE-0926-01, C2258
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 13 2026 3:04PM