Drone Guidelines for Maintenance Use

Summary:

Drone Guidelines for Maintenance Use Project aims to address the increasing utilization of drones in maintenance and surveying tasks for local Minnesota Transportation Agencies. Drones offer efficient inspection capabilities for infrastructure and imagery capture. However, regulatory barriers imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) limit their usage. This project seeks to synthesize these regulatory barriers and identify viable scenarios for drone usage, such as bridge inspection, surveying, stockpile measurements, ditch categorization, and GIS mapping. The research will involve reviewing regulatory requirements, surveying local agencies, synthesizing best practices, and developing comprehensive guidelines for drone operation and data management.

Final Deliverables:

Related Materials:

Related Research:

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator:  Barritt Lovelace

Technical Liaison:  Tyler Stindtman

Project Coordinator:  Marcus Bekele

Panel Members: 
Christopher Grahek - St. Louis County
David Conkel - Bridges
Phil Schmalz - Meeker County Highway Department
Shawn Peter - Houston County