Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Inspection of Tack Coats and Ancillary Highway Structures

Final Report (PDF)

Tech Brief (PDF)

Project TitleUnmanned Aerial Vehicles for Inspection of Tack Coats and Ancillary Highway Structures
UniversityWest Virginia University
George Mason University
Virginia Tech University
Principal Investigator(s)PI: Fei Dai, West Virginia University
Co-PI: David Lattanzi, George Mason University
Co-PI: Linbing Wang, Virginia Tech
Co-PI: Matthew Hebdon, Virginia Tech
Co-PI: John Zaniewski, West Virginia University
Funding Source(s) and Amounts Provided (by each agency or organization)WVU Fed: $69,971 WVU Match: $69,971
GMU Fed: $69,112 GMU Match: $69,112
VTI Fed: $139,336 VTI Match: $139,336
Total Project Cost$556,838
Start and End Dates01/20/2020 - 08/15/2022
Brief Description of Research ProjectThis project will investigate the feasibility of using unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs) to accelerate and improve the
inspection of tack coats and ancillary structures. The research
team will take a data-driven approach: identifying the key
assessment needs and data products to support DOT
inspection workflows, and to implement these criteria to
dictate the development of the necessary algorithms and UAV
hardware.
The objective of this project is to investigate whether and how
UAVs can be applied to enhance the current practice of
inspection for tack coats during asphalt pavement renovation
and for ancillary highway structures.