8 Ways Drones Are Lowering the Cost of Infrastructure Inspection - Power Engineering

8 Ways Drones Are Lowering the Cost of Infrastructure Inspection - Power Engineering: America’s infrastructure is past its prime. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives it a D+ grade. The ASCE notes that many bridges, roads, the energy grid, railways, ports, airports, and water systems are past their designed lifespans. But maintaining infrastructure takes investment. For the decade spanning 2016 to 2025, we’ve managed to allocate less than half of what’s needed to maintain and repair surface roads and bridges alone. That leaves a gap of $1.1 trillion. The work is expensive and slow, and it can be unsafe. Workers must drive remote roads, trim trees, climb towers, and work near high-speed traffic. And, they’re on the front lines after a natural disaster.   Using drones to inspect infrastructure is part of the solution to the backlog. More importantly, drones can help us dramatically improve our preventive maintenance going forward. Drones can help to scope work faster and deliver better quality data regarding needed repairs. Plus, they’re safer than most alternatives and usually cost less. Drones make it a lot easier to check interstate bridges for cracks, survey thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines, monitor pipelines, and so much more. He