Currently, remote sensing data, including aerial survey data from unmanned aerial systems (UAS), is actively utilized across various industries. In railway infrastructure, UAS-based aerial surveys are employed, among other applications, to assess the condition of debris flow channels and areas prone to deformation due to permafrost degradation. The article demonstrates the effectiveness of UAS for monitoring potentially hazardous sites using aerial survey results: digital elevation models and orthomosaics. It has been established that traditional infrastructure inspection methods lack sufficient efficiency in evaluating the state of potentially hazardous objects. The article describes studies using aerial photography from UAS of a potentially dangerous mudflow and a section of the railway roadbed located in the permafrost zone. The lack of information obtained during the inspection of the mudflow log and protective structures from the railway track by track detourers is shown. The expediency of conducting aerial surveys with UAS in the thermal range to identify potentially dangerous areas of the earthbed in permafrost zones has also been demonstrated. Based on the conducted research, recommendations are provided for improving the railway infrastructure monitoring system, including the use of VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) unmanned aerial vehicles and additional engineering-geological surveys based on UAS data analysis.
Shcheglov et al. (Fri,) studied this question.