The use of drone technology to evaluate and report pavement conditions in south african airports

Abstract

Airports in South Africa are required by law to provide adequate maintenance to their pavement infrastructures as to ensure serviceability and operational safety at all times, for the continuity of their business and services. Runways are key facilities on the airport which should be maintained at times. In recent years, drone technology as a tool in the project life cycle has gained recognition by the civil engineering industry locally and internationally, as a potential technique that can be used by airport industry to aid the maintenance of its pavement infrastructure. This research paper explores the possibility of introducing drones to the airport environment to aid the inspection and maintenance of airport pavements. The aim is to test the willingness of the industry to adopt the drone technology in the South African airport and to explore the approaches currently used for runway pavement maintenance. This was done by designing a survey questionnaire to be administered to selected participants that are based in 20 major airports in South Africa. The outcome of this research study will assist in the airport facilities environment to carry out scheduled pavement inspections on the airport in a speedy manner.