Field Applicability of Earthwork Volume Calculations Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

The earthwork volume must be calculated as accurately as possible for economical construction and cost savings. In particular, when calculating the areas and volumes of irregular curved terrains such as mountains, reservoirs, lakes, and coasts, the vertical assumptions for the boundary equation must be rationally and systematically established. This study focuses on earthwork volume calculation technology using UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). UAV can be used for various types of work, including checking the progress of construction at construction sites and calculating the earthwork volume for large areas. However, earthwork volume calculation technology using UAV is inefficient in terms of information production, management, and reuse because the quantitative guidelines for UAV operations are insufficient, and the output quality, analysis method, and analysis results differ. To solve these problems, the authors investigated an earthwork volume calculation method for construction sites that use UAV to automate the on-site calculation of construction errors and support an on-site monitoring system using building information modeling (BIM). To calculate the earthwork volume of the target site, a chain method with a planned plane map based on the average end-area method was used as a representative earthwork volume calculation method. The digital surface model method was applied to review the optimization of the earthwork volume calculation using UAV. This study is a process of analyzing construction data, and aims to strengthen the linkage of 3D data and provide construction management information specialized in excavation work. Through this earthwork analysis using UAV, it is possible to intuitively review the progress of earthwork in 3D by linking the current site with the planned plane.

Suitability Study of Using UAVs to Estimate Landfilled Fly Ash Stockpile

“…A UAV, commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft that is not guided by any human pilot but autonomously by remote control and carries sensors within them. UAVs are widely distributed in surveying [ 8 ] construction sites to capture 3D images and determine the progress, estimating the volume of earthwork [ 3 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], assessing and inspecting existing structures [ 4 , 12 ] and the environment [ 4 , 13 ]. These UAVs are a type of aerial platform that can acquire digital images and georeferencing.…”

“…Studies have demonstrated a wide range of applications of UAVs in civil engineering and construction. Engineering personnel has been applying UAVs in surveying [ 9 ] to determine progress activities [ 10 ], estimate earthwork volume and cut/fill quantities [ 3 , 11 ], stockpile volume estimation, and more related topics. However, most of the available research in construction has focused on the application of UAVs in quantity takeoff.…”

“…The result showed an error of 12–13% in single check dams and 2–3% in regional check dams. A study by Kim et al [ 11 ] investigated an earthwork volume calculation method for construction sites that monitored earthwork progress at a construction site using UAVs. The study compared a chaining method with a planned plane map based on the average end-area method and Digital Surface Model (DSM) method to calculate the earthwork volume.…”

“…Studies have been conducted to analyze the suitability and accuracy of UAVs in estimating the stockpile volume of materials. Existing studies [ 11 , 18 , 19 , 20 ] have focused on calculating the stockpile volume of an existing stockpile of some construction project sites or other places, such as a case study of an existing location. There has been a general comparison between different methods such as chaining methods, the average-end area method, UAVs, and laser scanners adopted to calculate the stockpile volume.…”

Near Real-Time Volumetric Estimates Using Unmanned Aerial Platforms Equipped with Depth and Tracking Sensors

“…Despite the reliability of these approaches, some weaknesses exist, such as the high computational burden required to process point clouds or the expertise requested by operators to effectively exploit these tools. This prevents the spreading of the technology in many sectors which could benefit from quick and reliable volume estimates, such as logistics [ 3 ], earthworks [ 4 ], or agriculture [ 5 ].…”