A protocol for using unmanned aerial vehicles to inspect agro-industrial buildings

  1. Gómez Patrocinio, F. Javier
  2. Tascón, Alberto 1
  1. 1 University of La Rioja, Spain
Journal:
Informes de la construcción

ISSN: 0020-0883

Year of publication: 2021

Volume: 73

Issue: 564

Type: Article

DOI: 10.3989/IC.84138 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Informes de la construcción

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, have many potential applications in the building industry. Among the most evident of these is inspection of buildings during construction and commissioning and as part of the maintenance strategy throughout service life. Drones can also be combined with thermal imaging for energy assessment of buildings. The present study describes an inspection protocol for agro-industrial buildings that consists of 5 stages, each composed of multiple tasks. The protocol was developed based on previous reports from other sectors, existing regulations and the authors’ own experience. In addition, it was validated through application to a real case: a recently built wine-ageing facility measuring 7,200 m2 with mechanical heating/cooling. The inspection yielded useful graphical information with both visible and infrared video and revealed difficulties, aspects to take into account and precautions to adopt in future use of these systems.

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