Slow
A close look at a bridge often means scheduling crews, equipment, and traffic control weeks ahead, so new condition information arrives slowly between inspections.
Drone bridge condition surveys and records
Know the condition of every bridge, and how it is changing.
A fixed mark for every bridge.
VardeSurvey™ bridge condition surveys are a surveying and engineering-support service for bridge owners and DOTs. We use drones to photograph and measure your bridges, then turn each flight into a dated, stitched image record your inspectors can compare from one visit to the next. Survey flights are planned to keep their own time on the bridge and lane closures to a minimum. A clear picture over time.
VardeSurvey condition surveys support engineer-led inspection. A survey is not an inspection and does not take the place of one.
Why "Varde"? In Norway, a varde is a cairn: a stack of stones that marks the way and fixes a point on the land. Surveyors have long used them as reference marks. Our work follows the same idea. Each flight sets a fixed, dated marker of a bridge's condition, so the next inspection has something solid to measure against.
The problem
Between inspections, a bridge's condition record is a set of scattered snapshots.
Risky
Every hands-on look means snooper trucks, lifts, or rope access, often next to live traffic. Engineers need to know where that effort, and any testing, matters most.
Episodic
Inspections happen on a set schedule, so the record is a series of separate snapshots. Notes and photos vary by inspector, which makes it hard to see how a crack or defect has changed between visits.
What engineers and owners need: a current, consistent record of each bridge's condition between inspections, tracked over time, so engineers can see how it is degrading and where a closer look or testing is needed.
Our approach
Fly it, stitch it, compare it.
-
1
Drone capture
A drone flies a planned path around the deck, beams, piers, and bearings, taking overlapping, high-resolution photos. Flights are planned to keep their own time on the bridge and lane closures to a minimum.
-
2
Processing at our office
After the flight, the photos come back to our office processing servers. There we check every image, log the time and location of each frame, and stitch them into a single, measurable picture of the bridge, called an orthomosaic. The finished record is then delivered securely to the cloud, where your team can view it from any office.
-
3
Crack detection next phase
In a follow-on phase, AI tools will scan the stitched images and flag likely cracks for an inspector to review. People make the call; the AI flags point them to where to look, helping DOTs and agencies see where testing is needed.
Every flight becomes a dated marker. Over time, owners and their engineers get a history of each bridge that shows what changed, where, and when.
Field app
The field tool our crews use for repeatable surveys. Early field build
Our survey crews use an Android field app to check the aircraft before a flight and turn each bridge survey into a checked flight plan that can be flown the same way on the next visit. It is a tool we use to deliver your survey, not a product we sell.
- SIMULATED
Connect and check SIMULATEDBattery, GPS lock, and radio link are confirmed before any plan is flown. - SIMULATED
Save and reuse missions SIMULATEDSave a checked plan, then load or duplicate it for the next visit so each survey flies the same way.
Both screens are SIMULATED. The connect screen is from an early test build running with sample data, not a live aircraft. The saved missions screen is a mockup with sample plans; saved missions are still in development.
Pipeline
From flight to a record your team can open.
1. Capture
The drone flies the checked plan and takes overlapping, high-resolution photos.
2. Offload
Photos are copied off the aircraft and checked so nothing is missed.
3. Stitch
Our office processing servers combine the photos into one measurable image of the bridge.
4. Crack detection next phase
AI tools will flag likely cracks for an inspector to review.
5. Cloud delivery
The finished record is delivered securely to the cloud for your team to view.
Your records stay yours. We store them securely, and your team has full access at any time.
What comes next
- Real bridge surveys, starting with pilot structures.
- A current-state record of each bridge, tracked from one visit to the next so changes are easy to see.
- AI crack detection, with inspectors making the final call.
Contact
Talk with us about a pilot.
Tell us about your bridges and what you need to track between inspections. We will follow up to talk through a pilot.
Email: vardesurvey@jcibox.com
Phone: 484.437.0546