Researchers from the University of New Mexico (UNM) are working with BAE Systems and San Diego State University to use remote sensing and cameras mounted on unmanned drones or low-cost aircraft to detect and map transportation infrastructure damage.

The drone would likely detect damage like cracks, deformations and shifts following natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.

The research is supported by a two-year, $1.2-million grant from the U.S. Transportation Department, as well as by the UNM School of Engineering.

“We've been working on basic technology for really fast and precise change detection by aligning images to each other before a disaster and immediately after an event to detect anything that changed," says Christopher Lippitt, an assistant professor in Department of Geography and Environmental Studies.

The researchers will use a GT500 aircraft made by Quicksilver for the project. The team will use a method called repeat station imaging (RSI), which researchers hope will rapidly align and analyze images to detect fine-scale damage to infrastructure.