Drone-Based Non-Destructive Inspection of Industrial Sites: A Review and Case Studies

Abstract

Using aerial platforms for Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) of large and complex structures is a growing field of interest in various industries. Infrastructures such as: buildings, bridges, oil and gas, etc. refineries require regular and extensive inspections. The inspection reports are used to plan and perform required maintenance, ensuring their structural health and the safety of the workers. However, performing these inspections can be challenging due to the size of the facility, the lack of easy access, the health risks for the inspectors, or several other reasons, which has convinced companies to invest more in drones as an alternative solution to overcome these challenges. The autonomous nature of drones can assist companies in reducing inspection time and cost. Moreover, the employment of drones can lower the number of required personnel for inspection and can increase personnel safety. Finally, drones can provide a safe and reliable solution for inspecting hard-to-reach or hazardous areas. Despite the recent developments in drone-based NDI to reliably detect defects, several limitations and challenges still need to be addressed. In this paper, a brief review of the history of unmanned aerial vehicles, along with a comprehensive review of studies focused on UAV-based NDI of industrial and commercial facilities, are provided. Moreover, the benefits of using drones in inspections as an alternative to conventional methods are discussed, along with the challenges and open problems of employing drones in industrial inspections, are explored. Finally, some of our case studies conducted in different industrial fields in the field of Non-Destructive Inspection are presented.

Computing in the Sky: A Survey on Intelligent Ubiquitous Computing for UAV-Assisted 6G Networks and Industry 4.0/5.0

“…For example, the authors of [157] presented an industrial IoT-based system that gathers data from a UAV camera and transfers it to a cloud server for processing. Using the robust intelligence of computer vision technologies [158], the design seeks to monitor the industrial zone to prevent unpleasant accidents in the manufacturing process. Drones have also become more popular in the mining industry for 3D mapping, public safety [159], and management [160].…”

Multi-Sensor System for Pipe Inspection using an Autonomous Hybrid Aerial Robot

“…Our state vector and observation vector, x k and z k respectively, are shown in equation (4). As it can be seen, this filter is only used to estimate the aircraft's position, and considers the use of the three on-board tracking cameras as observations.…”

“…A thorough analysis of the types of inspections performed by UAVs in industrial environments is presented in [4]. In the case of pipe inspections, the focus is on the inspection of buried pipes and the detection of thickness loss.…”

Impact of UAV Hardware Options on Bridge Inspection Mission Capabilities

“…The plot suggests gradual but consistent improvement of bridge conditions over time, but still more than 50% of the bridges are more than 40 years old, and more than 60% of them are in fair and poor condition and need efficient preventative maintenance to extend the life, minimize cost, and protect the safety of the public. Thus, the inspection and assessment of these infrastructures are essential for the early detection of possible complications with minimum interruption in operation [8]. early detection of possible complications with minimum interruption in operation [8].…”

“…Thus, the inspection and assessment of these infrastructures are essential for the early detection of possible complications with minimum interruption in operation [8]. early detection of possible complications with minimum interruption in operation [8]. Currently, visual inspection is the main procedure for bridge inspection.…”