Exploratory study of user-perceived effectiveness of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) integration in visual inspections of transportation agency

This research assesses the effectiveness of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and provides further implications and recommendations for UAS-based visual inspections in the construction and infrastructure environment. This study includes field tests at infrastructure projects provided by Georgia DOT, as well as semi-structured interviews and survey questionnaires after the field tests. A total of three field test locations were selected, including an airport, bridge, and road. During the field tests, eight UAS platforms were used to collect various data, including still images, infrared images, and video. Interviews with and a survey of industry professionals participating in the field tests were employed to measure the effectiveness of UAS integration into their construction-related task environments. The results of this study will assist in implementing UAS in infrastructure construction and operations. Since only a small number of potential UAS users from the field tests and post-test interviews, this study qualitatively describes further implications based on users’ perceptions, prompting the integration of UAS into the domain of infrastructure construction and operation.

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