Designing LiDAR-equipped UAV Platform for Structural Inspection

Efficient inspection and maintenance of bridges are vital for improving safety and sustainability of infrastructure systems. Recently, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanners are used for detecting surface defects. The LiDAR scanner can be mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which provides easier accessibility to most parts of the structure and can fly close to the structure. There are two types of mobile LiDAR scanners: 2D and 3D. A 2D scanner is more affordable, but it can only scan points on a plane. However, a 2D scanner can be transferred into 3D scanner by rotating the scanner using a servo motor. This paper aims to design a platform for LiDAR-equipped UAV for structural inspection using an affordable 2D scanner. First, the requirements and other design considerations are introduced. Then, the design details and the hardware and software integration steps of the LiDAR-equipped UAV platform are discussed. The initial test of the platform showed that it can provide acceptable accuracy for detecting large defects.