Bridge inspection plays a critical role in maintaining infrastructure safety and longevity. In the U.S. alone, over 40% of bridges are over 50 years old, and more than 46,000 are considered structurally deficient, requiring urgent repair to avoid potential failure. This aging infrastructure threatens public safety, disrupts transportation, and incurs costly repairs and economic consequences, with risks extending to loss of life. Early detection of wear and damage through regular inspections is essential to prevent catastrophic outcomes. However, traditional bridge inspection methods are often expensive, slow, and face accessibility challenges, limiting their effectiveness.

Emesent’s Hovermap solution sets a new standard for safety, efficiency, and accuracy in bridge inspection. By eliminating reliance on GPS, offering superior image quality, and providing advanced 3D mapping, Hovermap ensures thorough inspections in even the most challenging environments.

The need for safer, more efficient bridge inspection

Conventional bridge inspections involve labor-intensive, costly, and often dangerous methods. Snooper trucks require lane closures, impacting traffic while crews manually inspect structures from elevated baskets. Other approaches—such as using barges, scaffolding, or abseiling—are hazardous, requiring work at height, and risking the safety of personnel.

Drones have recently transformed bridge inspections by reducing costs and time. However, most drones rely on GPS for stability, a challenge when satellite signals are weak, such as beneath bridge decks. This GPS limitation forces operators to use stand-off distances, which compromises image quality and can result in undetected defects. Smaller drones, while better suited for GPS-denied areas, often carry low-resolution cameras that don’t capture the detail needed for thorough maintenance decisions.