Challenge  

The use of UAS technology has proven to save time and money and provide better data to assist in administering infrastructure construction contracts compared to traditional inspection methods, and UAS - enhanced projects have fewer worker injury claims.  Caltrans' utilization of UAS is repeatable and scalable across projects and contracts due to technology maturity, solid training and detailed data collection and analysis. A limiting factor, however, is the current requirement for pilots to drive to and from each site to fly manual, visually observed missions. Travel, sometimes hundreds of miles, reduces the number of missions a pilot can fly in any given time period, which extends project timelines, requires costly fuel expenditures and generates calculable carbon emissions.  

Solution

Dock bases Unmanned Aerial Systems can allow field staff to perform some construction project inspection and contract administration tasks remotely and reduce the total number of visits to the project site, consequently, reducing logistical complexities, carbon emissions, and some safety risks tied to on-site inspections and staffs travel to and from the site. 

Result

• Deploying UAS, promotes workforce safety through demonstration of a UAS approach that will remove operators from both construction sites and daily road travel. The demonstration work plan is structured to assess safety of remote autonomous UAS operation. Progression from onsite, visually observed flight to remote, visually observed flight to remote, autonomous flight allows for learning and adjustment and to define protocols to facilitate scale and adoption across project sizes and modalities.   

• Collects metrics to measure and evaluate anticipated outcomes. UAS systems in the future will be able to securely collect and share daily project data, enabling application of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning tools to facilitate change detection in both the construction phase and later asset management phase of the infrastructure lifecycle.    

• Offers calculable reduction in fuel expenditures and carbon emissions in support of climate-driven imperatives. 

• Promotes equity by reducing the time to complete construction infrastructure projects, thus expediting the realization of transportation system efficiencies to Historically Disadvantaged Communities.     

• Enables workforce development opportunities. Direct opportunities may derive from advanced UAS operator positions and training. Indirect opportunities may derive from Caltrans being able to manage more simultaneous resource-demanding construction projects.  

Project Contact:  

Aaron B. Chamberlin - aaron.chamberlin@dot.ca.gov