Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for inspection of pathological manifestations on ceramic coated facades

Abstract The world is undergoing a revolution, with high demand for the use of technology in industrial processes notably due to the need for optimisation of time, which poses a significant challenge. Hence, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming increasingly relevant as novel, more agile and secure devices.This study was aimed at performing an exploratory study of the use of UAVs as a tool for the visual inspection of pathological manifestations in building facades. The methodology included experimental research, where two case studies were carried out in buildings of medium and high height, developing for these purposes the protocol of activities, where the image collection and processing stages were contemplated. Thus, the results proved the technical feasibility and efficacy of the inspection, showing that among the visual assets produced, the digital photographs generated by the aircraft were more effective in detecting pathologies than the models generated by the Agisoft PhotoScan software. The main contribution of this study is the validation of the technological package designed to assist in the diagnosis of pathological manifestations based on the formulation of a protocol for facade inspections using UAVs and a comparative analysis of the visual assets that can be generated.