Abstract

In the last decades frequent abrupt changes of weather conditions have been increasingly causing failures on the transport infrastructure network. These failures can take many forms with toppling of rock slopes and rainfall induced landslides in slopes being the most common form of failure. This paper presents the use of remote monitoring system by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for slope stability assessment."br" Traditional mapping methods, usually based on visual assessments and personnel walking along the line being examined, can oversee important information, such as land use changes at the crest, the condition of drains and presence of cracks etc., while also exposed to very risky situations in the case of high or steep slopes. Information collected about the volume, cross-sections, contours and other parameters needed in the rock fall or landslide engineering analysis, can be modified, improved, and even completely replaced, by means of UAVs, or so called drones. Drones fitted with high-resolution cameras are enabling a more detailed inspection to be carried out, in order to remotely monitor the condition of a soil or rock slopes."br" The possibility of using drones for evaluating condition of the transport infrastructure network, with an emphasis on their advantages and disadvantages, is presented in the paper. The paper discussed demonstration sites in Croatia that have been used for the evaluation of the technique, together with the implementation of geophysical and geotechnical investigations of open tracks. Software developed at University of Zagreb, is using transformed digital data (3D orthographic images of the slopes) for the stability analysis and for the quantitative hazard assessment.