Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE) produced a new video documenting how drone technology can be used for building facade inspections.
Currently, nine major U.S. cities have adopted facade ordinances that require inspection of thousands of buildings every few years.
“We believe that drone usage will enable building owners to assess problems quicker and with less risk to the general public and workers,” WJE Principal Michael Petermann said. “This will become an essential tool in engineers’ and architects’ tool box.”
WJE partnered with First Flight Photography (FFP), an FAA-Section 330 vendor to produce the video that highlights how drones could be used to assess building exteriors safely and expediently. The companies worked together on the two structures highlighted in the video and have proposed on several other upcoming projects.
Having multi-angled video or still images enables engineers to see potential distressed conditions that could otherwise be missed from ground analysis. Petermann said that he hopes local governments permit the use of drones for building assessment.
WJE anticipates an increase in demand to perform visual inspections utilizing high quality imagery from drones and is in the process of partnering with select vendors.
Related Stories
BIM and Information Technology | Mar 11, 2015
Google plans to use robots, cranes to manipulate modular offices at its new HQ
Its visions of “crabots” accentuate the search-engine giant’s recent fascination with robotics and automation.
Museums | Mar 5, 2015
A giant, silver loop in Dubai will house the Museum of the Future
The Sheikh of Dubai hopes the $136 million museum will serve as an incubator for ideas and real designs—a global destination for inventors and entrepreneurs.
BIM and Information Technology | Mar 4, 2015
Why China's CCTV building needed a WiFi retrofit
It took a year-long retrofit to get WiFi transmission issues solved at China's iconic skyscraper.
Energy Efficiency | Mar 4, 2015
DOE launches crowdsourcing website for technology innovators
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory launched a new crowdsourcing website called the Buildings Crowdsoucing Community to collect and share ideas by innovators for energy-efficient technologies to use in homes and buildings.
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Mar 3, 2015
The great debate: Is 3D PDF really BIM?
You can pull apart buildings, cut through floors, and view simulated animation for assembly instructions all within a PDF.
BIM and Information Technology | Feb 23, 2015
9 best practices for effective laser scanning
JE Dunn’s National BIM Director, Trent Nichols, offers tips and advice for mastering the art of laser scanning.
BIM and Information Technology | Feb 10, 2015
Google's 3D scanning camera leaves the lab
Google is said to be partnering with LG to create a version of the technology for public release sometime this year.
BIM and Information Technology | Feb 8, 2015
BIM for safety: How to use BIM/VDC tools to prevent injuries on the job site
Gilbane, Southland Industries, Tocci, and Turner are among the firms to incorporate advanced 4D BIM safety assessment and planning on projects.
Architects | Feb 5, 2015
Toy around with Ittyblox's ultra-detailed building blocks
For Lego fanatics, time is no object when building a model. For those of us with a little less time, Ittyblox is a good solution.
