On September 13th, 2022, the House of Representatives passed Rep. Greg Stanton’s bipartisan bill H.R. 5315 — 117th Congress: Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act, moving it one step closer to becoming law. Once the bill passed the House of Representatives, a committee issued a report on the bill, which provides helpful explanatory background on the issue addressed by the bill and the bill’s intentions.
After a final review of the report, if no other action is required, it moves to the Senate, and then to the President to sign into law. As of August 2nd, 2022, a companion bill was introduced in the Senate, S.4744 – Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act by Senators Jacky Rosen (NV) and John Boozman (AR), and is currently under review.
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Why is House Bill 5315 Important?
The House bill would provide $100 million for drones or contract services, and another $100 million for training a new generation workforce on how to use the technology. The passing of this bill is not only beneficial to the drone service industry, but will also benefit the larger $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which greatly depends on inspections being carried out.
“There’s a nationwide backlog for critical infrastructure inspections—and it’s because traditional methods are often time consuming and expensive, and can even be dangerous. Using a drone to inspect infrastructure in hard-to-reach places—such as underneath bridges—can speed up the inspection process, is safer for workers, and can help save states and local transit agencies money.” ~Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ)
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ)
The Role of Drone Technology for Solving the Infrastructure Crisis
The crisis surrounding the country’s infrastructure extends to the inspection process, and drones can help with rebuilding. Almost 50% of America’s bridges are more than 50 years old. Workers need effective, safe, and environmentally friendly means to carry out the huge backlog of inspections required before repairs or new construction can be planned.
Traditional methods in the past have relied mostly on heavy machinery, which is often expensive, dangerous, and bad for the environment. Drones can step in to ease the backlog with safe, cost-effective methods, while providing even more benefits to local governments and communities.
There are many benefits that could come from passing the bill into law. One example is newly trained workers, or hired contractors, who can take the data collected from these infrastructure surveys and create valuable digital twins to track changes or damage to assets over time. Digital twinning can create a cyber object which can replicate a real thing, like a bridge or building, in both form and function. Using a software-constructed view of the infrastructure object, asset managers can then manipulate the digital objects through simulations against weather, aging, load weights, and a wide range of other parameters.
Related Article – How Drones Will Help Rebuild America’s Failing Infrastructure
This technology, advanced by engineers at MIT, will become standard functionality for Internet of Things (IoT) applications by 2025, but has largely been out of reach for state and local governments. Drones can play a vital role in this emerging technology through infrastructure surveys and inspections, and will be increasingly essential to almost every aspect of future asset management.
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Another current example comes from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), which is responsible for more than 13,500 bridges. The NCDOT funded a two-year research project in 2019 titled “Developing a Safe and Cost-effective Flight Control Methodology for a UAV-enabled Bridge Inspection,” and is now using Skydio drones for bridge inspections on a regular basis. The NCDOT stated using drones for bridge inspections is now faster, saves money, and reduces the need for lane closures. And the savings can be substantial. According to the research done by DroneUp, using drones for bridge inspections requires about 1/6 of the labor hours as compared to manual inspections.
Next Steps for the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act
Prior to passing the IIJA in November 2021, a Goldman Sachs study estimated the cost for infrastructure survey services would reach $100 billion between 2016–2020. Since the passing of the IIJA, infrastructure surveys have become even more vital and using drones for these surveys would potentially save local governments precious room in their budgets. Add the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act to the IIJA and there is great potential for the drone services industry to help local communities raise their overall infrastructure score and improve the lives of their citizens.
While the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act has cleared its first legislative hurdle, there is still work to be done. The next step is for the Senate to bring it for a vote. Rep. Greg Stanton said, “I’m encouraged to see a companion bill introduced in the Senate, and I encourage my colleagues to pass this important legislation.” Both bills have bipartisan support, significant support from industry leaders, and support from local governments. While the Senate leadership has been urged to schedule the bill for consideration without delay, they have referred the bill to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where it remains in review.
Hiring an Experienced Drone Company for Your Infrastructure Inspections
If you are reading this article from the perspective of a state or local official trying to navigate the complexities of this technology, we can help. The Drone Life has extensive experience with drone inspections and surveys from evaluating and planning, through delivery of the final reports. We have experience working with state and local government offices to create unique plans specific to your needs.
Our expert team of highly qualified and licensed professionals are ready to assist with your next drone inspection project. Schedule your free consultation with a drone expert today.
What's included in the PDF...
The complete step-by-step beginners roadmap for infrastructure inspections
Crucial factors of success when implementing a drone program
The game-changing advantages of utilizing drones for inspections
