THE Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore has developed a drone equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) application for close monitoringof structures locatedininaccessible areas, an official said on Tuesday. According to the IIT official, the AI-driven remotely operated vehicle can detect cracks and other defects instructures ranging from high-tension power lines and gas pipelines to buildings and roads with in merely 25 milliseconds.

 

“The IIT Indore has developed acutting-edge drone system that integrates Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with AI and machine learning (ML) to inspectanddetectanomalies in structures, especially in difficult-to-reach areas,” the institute’s professor, Abhirup Datta, said. This system uses AI-ML technology to identify and classify cracks and other anomalies in structures such as high-tension wires, gas pipelines, buildings, and roads in real-time, he informed. Datta said.

 

“The system has shown remarkable accuracy, achieving a 98.7% success rate indetecting and classifying cracks and processing data in just 25 millis econdsusing advanced AI edge devices like Nvidia Jetson.Thisinnovationisexpected to transform the way inspections are conducted,making the process faster, safer, and more reliable.” The IIT professor maintained that if specific researchisundertaken,AI-powered drones can also be used to detect cracks.