newsroom
EYE IN THE SKY: TRANSFORMING INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT WITH DRONES, AI, AND MACHINE LEARNING
William Mecier, Staff Scientist
william.mecier@respec.com
David Gallegos, Director of Professional Services
david.gallegos@respec.com
Picture this: a drone equipped with a camera takes flight, surveying vast stretches of infrastructure.
As it soars over the sites, it captures high-quality images and videos, then transmits to a cloud, where an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm swings into action, meticulously processing the visuals to pinpoint potential issues. The issues are then displayed on a web map, visually representing your infrastructure’s health. Within a remarkably short time, you can discern what needs immediate attention.
Using drones has become increasingly popular for targeting specific areas and concerns. Powerful in collecting even the most minute data and reaching high vantage points and inaccessible areas, drones can gather enough data to train an AI system to perform tasks that an inspector would typically do.
Enter our Intelligent RESPEC Identification System (IRIS). IRIS, a machine learning application, uses data to help drones recognize vegetation, analyze color profiles, discern patterns, and, most importantly, detect infrastructure problems.
Take the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), for example. They faced the challenge of manually monitoring temporary sediment control devices to prevent pollutants from entering the sewer systems—a time-intensive and repetitive task. To help, RESPEC deployed a drone to collect imagery of their sediment fencing, ran the data through IRIS, and quickly identified infrastructure issues. The impact? CDOT gained a new advantage in efficiency, reducing site inspection to just a fraction of the time. Forty-one minutes of manual labor turned into fifteen minutes with the drone.
But these problems aren’t unique to transportation departments. These issues and processes easily translate across the Mining and Energy industries, where failing infrastructure can trigger cascading problems, from environmental hazards to operational disruptions to worker safety concerns.
Thankfully, RESPEC’s integrated services allow us to offer solutions that soar above the rest—literally. We can combine advanced technology with expert knowledge in mining and infrastructure to provide immediate solutions for our clients. Using drones, AI, and web applications, our technologists gather and analyze data to pinpoint failing infrastructure around your site. Once problems are identified, our civil engineers, experts in infrastructure refinement, can quickly work to address the problems, ensuring the productivity of your operations.
Monitoring your infrastructure is no longer just a routine task but a strategic advantage. With RESPEC’s drone technology, AI algorithms, and machine learning capabilities, early intervention saves time and resources. Efficiency amplifies, costs shrink, and, most importantly, worker safety soars.