Researchers have developed an unmanned aerial vehicle that can fly itself. Taking 3D scans of its surroundings, the drone can process that data fast enough to navigate in real time, without hitting objects. The scans are accurate enough to use for other purposes, too, such as infrastructure inspection.
Typically, inspectors visit a site every 12 to 18 months and generate handwritten notes that vary in detail and accuracy according to the inspector, says Daniel Huber, senior systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, Pittsburgh. "They might take some photos but don't make a comprehensive representation of the structure," he says. As a result, assessment of the structure over a long period of time can be quite difficult, Huber adds.