For Aging Bridges, UAB Engineer Wants to Send in the Drones
Many of Alabama’s bridges are in bad shape. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are about 16,000 structurally deficient bridges in Alabama. It’s a problem here and across the country. Many of the bridges are just old, and many were built when traffic and cars were lighter. But inspecting bridges takes time, skill and money. Now, a University of Alabama at Birmingham engineering professor is using a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a solution using drones.
Practicalities
It takes a long time to inspect any good-sized bridge, and there aren’t enough specialists or budget dollars to do them all. UAB engineering professor Nassim Uddin says that’s dangerous.
“We see a number of collapse of bridges recently, in Minneapolis, in Washington and so forth.”
Uddin says inspections become trickier and are required more frequently as bridges age. But he thinks drones could help.
“That was the challenge,” he says. “How can we use cheaper, very light sensors [to] give you a similar level of precision?”
The Plan
The idea is to mount sensors on bridges, then send drones out to upload information about the bridges’ health from the sensors. The drones themselves could scan the structures where the sensors can’t reach, too.
“Having the drones now, we don’t have to put hundreds and thousands of sensors sitting on the bridge and using lots of electricity and collecting the data day in and day out,” says Uddin.
Drones could be used for regular bridge inspections, or after storms or earthquakes.
Uddin is collaborating with researchers in Ireland and England, where he says there are fewer restrictions on testing drones in high-traffic areas. He hopes to run field tests in England this year. He’s also recently applied for a separate grant to develop the same drones to inspect buildings, homes and other structures after storms or earthquakes. Those drones could also serve as hotspot communications networks in disaster zones.
Appeals court allows end of protected status for migrants from 3 countries
A federal appeals court on Wednesday sided with the Trump administration and halted for now a lower court's order that had kept in place temporary protections for 60,000 migrants from Central America and Nepal.
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina
Bolsonaro is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling about an alleged coup attempt and learned Wednesday he might face another case as police formally accused him and one of his son of obstruction of justice
Massacres in eastern Congo cast doubt on U.S. mediated peace deal
Rwanda backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed hundreds of villagers in July, according to Human Rights Watch, raising doubts about Trump backed peace process.
One civilian injured in crash with D.C. National Guard military vehicle
The military vehicle, which is designed to withstand explosive attacks, collided with a "civilian vehicle" just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Trump vows to expand his review of U.S. museums. Can he do that?
The White House said that after the administration eliminates "woke" culture from the Smithsonian, it would expand to other museums around the country. Would that be possible?
Dependent on foreign sales, U.S. wheat farmers hoping longtime partners stick with them
As President Trump's tariffs kick in, American companies that rely on imports are worried about rising costs and passing them onto consumers. But some U.S. exporters are worried too.
