Flying robots may just be the solution to monitor bridges in the United States.
Engineers at Tufts University in Massachusetts are working on a design in which sensors will be attached to bridge beams and joints. The sensors record vibrations continuously and process the recorded signal, which can signify to authorities if there is bridge damage, Science Daily reports.
Along with the sensors on the bridges, the project would also include flying robots, also known as quad-copters, which collect data by taking pictures of the conditions and send them to a location where they can be closely analyzed by experts, as Evaluation Engineering reports.
The Obama administration recently warned that one in four bridges in the country need repair.
In Massachusetts, more than half of the 5,136 bridges in the state are deficient, according to the Obama administration report.
"Right now, if a bridge has severe damage, we're pretty confident we can detect that accurately. The challenge is building the system so it picks up small, less obvious anomalies," said Babak Moaveni, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tufts School of Engineering.
The technology Moaveni is developing is a big advancement from the current procedure for inspecting bridges. Today, engineers dangle beneath bridges on cables and look for cracks, reports Evaluation Engineering. Dangerous cracks are often overlooked by engineers experienced at inspecting bridges.
