DRONES IN CONSTRUCTION SITES

by Francesco D'Alessandro

What could the construction industry and military planes have in common? And so the constructionindustry and the drones? Many things! First of all the physics but also the engineeringprocesses, the quality check, the ideas, the technology and so on but above all, an idea, a thoughtthat has changed the world. All these ideas and these thoughts are all heading in the last few yearsfor the same DRONE. The aviation industry can provide the competence and the suitabletechnology in order to produce tools, equipment and robots for the world of construction. Theconstruction companies are right now employing these tools and they are going to employ themmore and more henceforth. The questionings are although still numerous. What if it falls?...Which could be the damages?... Is the safety of the people guaranteed?... And what about thesocioeconomic consequences?... Can a drone replace the human work?... Is it really safer andcheaper?... And what about the labour market? Through this book, we are going to analyse thestrengths and the weaknesses of this amazing flying robot which, applied to the constructionworld, reveals incredible capabilities. It is multivalent and so very cheap, and it is usable formany activities geometric surveying, aerial photography, heat detection, land surveying,transport of equipment, surveys, footages and photos from the construction site, video surveillanceetc. This book set itself as a technical handbook (for insiders but also for those who arenot), that may be looked up to find programming and employing advices as much as guidelinesand regulations. Through this handbook, we are going to discuss therefore the specific technicsof employment and the various uses in the construction field.This book is also a collecting and assembling job (drafted following a strict logic and adidactic and professional continuity) of data and information given by documents, witnesses,interviews from various experts (each mentioned from time to time and within the bibliography)of a young and evolving world which possesses already so much to think about but still scatteredinformation. For this reason, my exhortation to the reader is to read carefully also the bibliographyand to examine the single topics.We are going to make out the architecture of the drones and the features of the single componentsin order to understand how to choose or to order a suitable for our needs drone, to discoverthe rules and functioning of the drones as much as the equipment and the accessories. We willdiscover also how to program a drone, how to set the GPS, how to carry out operations likeremote sensing, heat detection, aerial photography, monitoring and surveys, working progress,surveillance of the construction sites but not only. We will consider also the rules to inspectphotovoltaic systems, buildings, bridges, pipes and coverings. All of this has been explained in asimple and fluent way with the explanation of technics to implement right now, keeping an eyeon what is possible to do and what is not (ENAC rules).Actually, there will probably never exist a univocal answer to all the questions and, as we willsee, this field is not free from risks. In spite of everything anyway, whether we carry out the right analysis and safety system andwhether we consider and accept the risks (that are inherent of every activity anyhow), we can justconsider the drones as a great technological conquer.

Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2015