Dive Brief:

• Eliminating cranes, scaffolding and professional climbers, German researchers are testing a drone aircraft that they say can turn a two-to-three-day building inspection by humans into a three-to-four-hour project.
• Christian Eschmann of the Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing in Saarbrücken, Germany, is the pilot for the project that sends an eight-rotor drone with stabilizing systems back and forth across the face of a building or bridge, above or below them, and into hard-to-reach or dangerous areas to look for cracks or other signs of wear and tear that need for repair.
• The craft is equipped with a high-resolution camera that can produce 1,200 images in a 15-minute mission and can be equipped with an infrared camera for other inspections.

Dive Insight:

The age of structures built after World War II means they have to be checked for wear and tear and environmental damage, and that demand is driving this ​research. The drone also facilitates inspection of design defects or warranty issues. Eschmann's team is working on a way to program the octocopter to fly a predetermined inspection route back and forth across a building.