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• =”” =”” _blank=”” a=”” according=”” american=”” are=”” audio=”” auto-generated.=”” award=”” bridges=”” brief:=”” by-sa=”” cc=”” charles=”” civil=”” creativecommons.org=”” dive=”” engineers=”” feedback.=”” for=”” have=”” how=”” href=””https://news.mst.edu/2025/02/missouri-st-researchers-robotic-bridge-inspection-system-earns-asces-2025-pankow-award/”” https:=”” if=”” improves=”” innovation,=”” inspected=”” is=”” know=”” let=”” licenses=”” of=”” pankow=”” please=”” robotic=”” society=”” system=”” that=”” the=”” this=”” to=”” us=”” won=”” you=””>Feb. 28 news release from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
• The Bridge Inspection Robot Deployment System (BIRDs) was developed by a Missouri S&T professor Genda. The system includes three drones which capture bridge data with infrared camera, LiDAR, and a crack probe. The ASCE presents the award annually to organizations that have made a significant contribution to the design and construction industries by introducing innovations into practice.

Dive insight:

Three drones in the system work together to collect and analyze span data.

A first drone can fly and crawl on bridge girders in order to conduct inspections using LiDAR and infrared cameras. A second UAV uses a bicycle-like crawler that can be deployed to inspect steel components using a microscope and crack probe. A third UAV uses a manipulator for concrete maintenance and defect testing.

Chen is the director of Missouri S&T’s Center for Intelligent Infrastructure in Rolla. According to the release, the next steps are to continue testing the technology to identify areas for improvement and to work with agencies and companies on its wider adoption. According to the school, the BIRDS project started in 2019 and has received more than $1 million in funding through the U.S. DOT University Transportation Centers Program. “Federal Standards require regular bridge inspections. This can be a challenging task due to the sheer volume of bridges and the difficulty in accessing them,” Chen stated in the news release. The inspection data we can retrieve through BIRDS will be a huge help in these issues. It will ensure that structures are well-maintained, safe and secure and lower their life-cycle cost. Chen’s invention can detect tiny movements in composite material to prevent structural issues. Chen’s collaborators are:

Donn Digamon

• State bridge engineer for Georgia DOT. Bryan Hartnagel is the state bridge engineer of the Missouri DOT. Hung La is an assistant professor of computer sciences and engineering at University of Nevada Reno. Michael Premo is the assistant chief structures engineer at the Nevada DOT.
• Yang Wang is a professor of civil engineering and architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology.