Evaluating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Vibrational Analysis: Exploiting Integrated Capabilities of Nano-Drones as Nodes in a WSN

Abstract

Addressing the aging infrastructure challenge in both civil and industrial sectors has spurred the development of advanced sensor technologies and novel inspection methodologies, significantly contributing to the field of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). While conventional sensors, such as structure-mounted accelerometers, have demonstrated high effectiveness, their deployment may be difficult or even impossible in high-risk environments like post-seismic areas, where the installation procedure hampers the operators' safety. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the characteristics of a novel sensing platform compatible with autonomous deployment for vibration inspection of infrastructures. In particular, we explore the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), with a specific focus on nano-drones, as a viable and promising solution due to their compact size and cost-effectiveness. In particular, 'Crazyflie 2.1' nano-drones are exploited as reference platforms, given their characteristics in terms of versatility and electrical parameters. The objective is to utilize the on-drone MEMS-based Inertial Measurement and Microcontroller Unit (IMU and MCU) to perform, at the same time, both flight control and navigation, and vibration measurements. The proposed solution is validated through a comparison with acceleration measurements taken with commercial sensors and exploited for the structural identification of a simply supported beam element. The results indicate that the Crazyflie drone can detect even small variations in the dynamic response, with a maximum deviation of 1% compared to the reference sensor.