Today we’re looking at a high-tech solution to a perennial problem.
We have a lot of bridges that need repairing or replacing.
One annual study finds there are over 46,000 bridges in the US that are classified as “structurally deficient,” and still in use!
So we’ve got some work to do. But we may also have a new kind of help to do that work.
The drone company Skydio has just announced a new 3D scanning software that’s intended for use on large-scale structures like bridges.
Engineers could use the software to create a flight path above, below and around a bridge.
The drone then follows that path and angles its rotating camera to take in the entire surface of the structure, giving engineers easy access even to normally inaccessible sections.
The hope is that this will make it easier to inspect bridges and maybe even spot issues before they lead to structural deficiencies.
The company says the scans can work on the outsides of buildings, infrastructure, even crash or crime scenes.
Just so long as they keep an eye out for all the drones that are supposed to be delivering all our online orders to us.
Also, get ready for a zillion YouTube channels of drones flying around the undersides of stuff.
Even in 2020, we all need to rock out a little, and Chavis Flagg is helping make that happen.
The Atlanta-based guitarist is getting lots of attention not only for his sharp guitar leads, but for the fact that he plays those solos while riding on a OneWheel, which is sort of like if a skateboard was also a unicycle.
Not only are his videos getting lots of plays online, the tip money at his live appearances is starting to – wait for it – roll in.
(Hey, I had to say it.)
Introducing Skydio 3D Scan™ (Skydio via YouTube)
This guitar-playing skateboarder is warming hearts in pandemic-stricken Atlanta (CNN)
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Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority via Flickr/Creative Commons
