Viaduct safety: updating of the viaduct cadastre using UAVs and GIS

Abstract: With a view to road safety and the maintenance of viaducts and overpasses of the A18 Messina-Catania motorway, we have created an experimental automatic monitoring system for the identification of viaducts and overpasses that have a high number of deterioration both in the road surface and in the surfaces external. This system is aimed at updating the cadastre of bridges and viaducts. Specifically, the proposed system allows to automatically acquire data through a fleet of drones flying from wireless charging bases, transmitting the acquired data to a cloud platform where they are processed, identifying the defects and returning the information to the GIS (cadastre update of viaducts and overpasses). In the latter it will be possible to view the viaducts and overpasses that require urgent maintenance. Particular attention was given to the image post-processing procedure by experimenting with the use of different ad hoc algorithms that involve the combination of different methodologies for the detection of damages.