Case File2019
Drone Inspection of Abu Dhabi International Airport
NYU Abu Dhabi · with Abu Dhabi Airports (ADAC)
Challenge, contribution, and outcome
CHALLENGE
Abu Dhabi International Airport's aerodynamic terminal roof is hazardous for human inspectors but still requires contact inspection.
MY CONTRIBUTION
Supported the aerial-manipulation inspection collaboration with Abu Dhabi Airports — drone-based contact inspection of the terminal roof where human access is hazardous.
OUTCOME
Demonstrated drone-based aerial manipulation for terminal roof inspection in NYUAD's industry collaboration with Abu Dhabi Airports.
Narrative
Collaboration between NYU Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Airports to protect infrastructure and keep workers safe at the city's new international airport — engineering a drone equipped with robotic arms to inspect the terminal's aerodynamic roof, which is not safe for humans to access.
System Record
- Application
- APPIndustrial Inspection
- Laboratory
- Platforms
- PLATFORMUAV Platform
- Methods
- METHODAerial Manipulation
- Period
- 2019
Development & Validation
- Aerial manipulation for infrastructure inspection: the drone's robotic arms take over contact inspection of the roof structure, "minimizing the risks and hazards of using humans in difficult tasks" (Prof. Anthony Tzes, NYUAD).
- Targets the aerodynamic roof design of the airport terminal, whose geometry makes conventional human inspection hazardous.
- Featured by NYU Abu Dhabi as part of its industry collaboration with Abu Dhabi Airports on maintaining safety standards at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Credits & Collaborators
Nikolaos Giakoumidis
NYU Abu Dhabi · CAIR
System integration
Abu Dhabi Airports (ADAC)
Industry partner
Anthony Tzes
NYU Abu Dhabi · CAIR
Principal Investigator
Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR)
NYU Abu Dhabi
Research partner