Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Applications in the Built Environment
Tarek Rakha, Alice Gorodetsky · 2020
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs – a.k.a. drones) have evolved over the past decade as both advanced military technology and off-the-shelf consumer devices. There is a gradual shift towards public use of drones, which presents opportunities for effective remote procedures that can disrupt a variety of built environment disciplines. UAS equipment with remote sensing gear present an opportunity for analysis and inspection of existing building stocks, where architects, engineers, building energy auditors as well as owners can document building performance, visualise heat transfer using infrared (IR) imaging, and create digital models using 3D photogrammetry. This chapter presents a comprehensive review of various literature that addresses this topic, followed by the identification of a standard procedure for operating a UAS for energy audit missions. The presented framework is then tested on the Syracuse University campus site based on the literature review to showcase: (i) pre-flight inspection procedure parameters and methodologies; (ii) during-flight visually identified areas of thermal anomalies using a UAS equipped with IR cameras; and (iii) 3D CAD AU: modelling developed through data gathered using UAS. A discussion of the findings suggests refining procedure accuracy through further empirical experimentation, as well as study replication, as a step towards standardising the automation of building envelope inspection.