Abstract

The utilization of drones is expected to streamline the process of building inspection in Japan; however, no known drone utilization platform exists in the region‘s architectural sector. Therefore, in this study we pioneered the development of a drone platform based on an industry- government-academia collaboration within Japan‘s architectural field. We first investigated drone related trends, such as a utilization roadmap, flight rules, the drone market, new technologies and issues relating to the architecture field. Subsequently, we worked on solutions for drone utilization in the building sector, including methods for building inspection, determination of drone-flight risk factors relative to building inspection and the creation of a drone safety operation manual. Through field tests, we validated the effectiveness of the drone platform in building inspection, i.e., the determination of a cost-time relation during inspection, the merits of applying a high-resolution camera for inspection, the possibility of utilizing an infrared camera for exfoliation detection in exterior wall tiles and the development and efficiency of a built-in automatic inspection system. Furthermore, trial tests were conducted for the application of a drone-inspection system in disaster areas and a micro-drone in small building spaces. The findings of this study confirmed that the new drone platform achieved inspection- and disaster-related objectives within the architectural sector.