Trains must be regularly inspected and maintained for worker and passenger safety. Inspecting a heavy machinery can be a difficult task, requiring long hours, ladders, or bucket lifts to inspect. Drones can help rapidly inspect and document the status of large vehicles like locomotives, but manual drones struggle to capture imagery in up close or overhung environments.

With 3D Scan, a Skydio can autonomously scan the train and provide a detailed 3D reconstruction to help inspectors detect even the smallest problem, while also opening up doors for digital twins and virtualized asset bases. This model’s photos were taken with 3D Scan on a Skydio 2, and the reconstruction was performed using Bentley ContextCapture. This vehicle belongs to, Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway.

Capture

• Platform: Skydio 2
• Distance: 10 meters
• GSD: 2.9 mm
• Overlap / Sidelap: 80 / 70%
• Photos: 511
• Fly Time: 38 mi
• Processing package: Bentley ContextCapture