The current method of inspecting bridges for structural
damage is labor-intensive and, in some instances, dangerous to all involved.
Dr. Zhaozheng Yin, assistant professor of computer science at Missouri
University of Science and Technology, and his engineering team have been
developing a safer, more efficient solution with his latest research project,
the “multicopter.”
“This system was developed initially to monitor bridge
structure health,” Yin says. “Our goal is to be able to collect data
autonomously using non-invasive sensor technology; to be able to detect and
find patterns that could possibly tell us that information about the structure’s
integrity.”