Aerial Robotic Technologies for Civil Engineering: Established and Emerging Practice

Aerial robotic technology has potential for use in a wide variety of civil engineering applications. Such technology potentially offers low-cost methods to replace expensive structural health monitoring activities such as visual inspection. Aerial robots also have potential uses in civil construction and for regional surveys. This paper presents the results of a review on the applications of aerial robotic technology in civil engineering. Such civil engineering applications can be classified into three broad areas: (i) monitoring and inspection of civil infrastructure; (ii) site management, robotic construction, and maintenance and (iii) post-disaster response surveys and rapid damage assessments. The motivations for uptake of aerial robotics in the civil engineering industry generally fall into the following categories: (i) cost savings, (ii) improved measurement capability and (iii) safety improvements. The categories of aerial robotic use in civil engineering are then classified as either ‘established’ or ‘emerging’ uses.