What is an Automated Drone Inspection?

An automated drone inspection is a drone flight that follows a planned mission and records imagery of an airfield for later measurement.

How it works

The operator writes the mission before takeoff. It sets the route, the altitude, the camera angle and the image overlap. The drone flies this plan and the remote pilot supervises it. TarmacView builds the mission from a stored profile of the aerodrome. The next visit then flies the same path with the same camera geometry. The two data sets line up, so a report can show change.

FHWA describes the same capability for bridges. Current drones can fly autonomously, avoid obstacles and repeat earlier flight paths. Images from the same vantage point can then be compared with earlier images.

RTK GNSS positions each image to about the centimetre. A measurement is then a geometry problem: an angle between a known camera position and a known fixture. The imagery and the position log stay on record, so a disputed finding can be recomputed instead of reflown.

At an aerodrome, the operator agrees the flight with the tower in advance. It runs in the gaps between aircraft movements, and aircraft always have priority.

Automated, autonomous and piloted

An automated flight follows a stored plan. It is still a piloted operation. In the United States, 14 CFR 107.19 makes the remote pilot in command directly responsible for the operation and the final authority. Section 107.12 requires a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating.

What it measures

• Geometry, such as the transition angles of a PAPI unit
• Relative photometry, such as colour ratios and the relative intensity of units under one exposure
• Surface condition, which is the input to a Pavement Condition Index (PCI)

A PCI is a rating from 0 (failed) to 100 (new) that rests on the type, severity and quantity of distress. ASTM D5340 sets the method. Repeat determinations on the same pavement show how it changes over time.

TarmacView plans survey flights and captures the photos for pavement today. Crack detection and the ASTM D5340 rating are in development and offered as early access.

What FAA research found on pavement

The FAA tested small drones at six airports in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and New Jersey, from December 2020 to November 2021 (DOT/FAA/TC-22/48). The results:

• Colour (RGB) orthophotos with a resolution finer than 5 mm per pixel identified many distresses. Lower resolutions identified a limited number.
• Elevation models helped locate distresses with height differences, such as faulting, shoving, depressions and medium and high severity cracks.
• Thermal data helped identify certain distresses and foreign object damage, because they differ in thermal profile from intact pavement.
• The recommended resolutions are 1.5 mm per pixel for the orthophoto and 6.0 mm per pixel for the elevation model.
• With these practices, most severity levels of asphalt and concrete distress could be identified and rated.

A second FAA report (DOT/FAA/TC-23/50) concludes that drone PCI inspections gave values close to traditional on-foot inspections. The FAA studies describe research methods. They do not describe a TarmacView product.

Crew, equipment and weather

The FAA study sets practices for a pavement survey:

• A crew of at least three: a remote pilot in command, a visual observer, and one person for data collection logistics.
• A dedicated portable aviation radio for each crew.
• High-quality ground control points, at most 100 m apart.
• Test the flight control software a week before data collection.
• Schedule flights in weather without precipitation and with acceptable wind.

The study found that a three-person crew can collect data at an airport with low air traffic without interrupting the flow.

Other infrastructure

Bridges are a common use. FHWA calls bridge inspection one of the more promising uses of UAS. Drones reach elements that inspectors see only through binoculars. They reduce the need for access equipment and traffic restrictions. Thermal cameras can check for subsurface anomalies.

FHWA also sets a limit. UAS are not currently acceptable as a replacement for hands-on inspection of fracture-critical members. They are not intended to replace bridge inspectors. The tool supplements the information that inspectors have.

Where it stops

A camera records counts, not candelas. Absolute intensity needs a calibrated photometer. A drone also does not replace an electrical test or the calibration of a radio navigation aid.

Flying at or near an aerodrome

Rules in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom control flights near an airport. The rule depends on the airspace.

• United States: 14 CFR 107.41 requires prior ATC authorization to fly a small drone in Class B, C or D airspace. It also applies in the surface area of Class E airspace for an airport. A certificate of waiver can authorise a deviation from this section (107.205).
• Europe: Under Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947, Member States set UAS geographical zones. In a zone they may prohibit operations, set conditions or require a prior flight authorisation. EASA names airports among the places where restricted zones are often set. This authorisation is not the same as the operational authorisation of the specific category.
• United Kingdom: A flight restriction zone surrounds an airport or airfield. You must get permission from the relevant site before you fly. The runway protection zones are 1 km wide and extend 5 km from each runway end.

Agree the flight with the aerodrome operator and the air traffic service before you fly. A planned flight between movements, coordinated with the tower, is the TarmacView method.

Rules for the flight

• United States: 14 CFR 107.31 requires visual line of sight. A certificate of waiver can deviate from it. The limits are 400 feet above ground level and 87 knots groundspeed. In August 2025 the FAA proposed rules for routine flights beyond visual line of sight (Part 108). Remote identification became mandatory on 16 September 2023 (14 CFR 89.105).
• Europe: Regulation (EU) 2019/947 sets the open category (visual line of sight, 120 m) and the specific category. A flight beyond visual line of sight is in the specific category. It needs an operational authorisation with a risk assessment. A declaration for a standard scenario or a light UAS operator certificate are the other routes.
• International: ICAO Annex 6 Part IV, for remotely piloted aircraft systems, applies from 26 November 2026.