The days when building inspectors used to rely on huge ladders and binoculars to inspect for weaknesses in building structures are long behind us. Drones have now become an industry standard and are being used the world over to inspect not just buildings, but other structures such as bridges and even drone roof inspections. While this method of inspection is easy, affordable and takes a shorter time, there are concerns about some issues regarding their safety.

The commercial drone industry has grown tenfold over the past few years, and more and more businesses are taking advantage of these amazing machines.  This was partially fueled by the FAA’s regulation that was passed in 2016 allowing for companies to use drones for commercial purposes. Building inspection companies are now a huge growing market thanks to drones fitted with high quality cameras and sensors.

Inspection companies are now able to easily inspect structures which previously difficult due to their delicate nature and prohibitive costs. Traditional methods of inspecting buildings ran the risk of tampering with the strength of the very structure they were inspecting. These methods also took a lot of man hours as one had to erect ladders or use other structures to do a physical inspection.

Drones have broken down a lot of these barriers which have reduced the costs tremendously. According to some industry experts, the cost of inspecting a building which used to run into the tens of thousands of dollars has been reduced to hundreds if not low thousands. This is exceptional and really shows how drones have transformed the inspection industry.

Safety Concerns Lead to Prohibitive Regulations

Safety concerns of using drones have persisted, however, and this has led some cities to put laws into place which prohibit the use of drones. While some cities have been more lenient and only restricted drone use in areas close to airports, some such as New York city have prohibited the use of drones altogether for building inspections.

Regulatory authorities have long been concerned about the safety when dealing with drones. Even when not used for malicious reasons, a drone operated by an amateur can cause chaos and possible injuries when allowed to operate in or close to airports.

Advancing Technology and Pleas for Legal Accommodation

Drones that inspect buildings have not been left behind.  Kespry, an industrial drone company has developed drones that fly automatically and do not need any piloting for building inspections. Other advancements include the development of software which is able to analyze the data collected by drones and use it to create building models. The software, which is developed by Canadian tech company, Industrial SkyWorks can also issue inspection reports. Drone technology for inspections is still in its infancy and we can certainly expect to see new drones come to market over the next few years that will completely revolutionize the inspection industry.