Experimental Accuracy Evaluation of UAV-Based Homography for Static and Dynamic Displacement Monitoring of Structures

Structural displacement monitoring is an essential component of structural health monitoring of bridges, providing valuable information for performance evaluation, numerical model validation, and damage detection. While conventional contact-based sensors provide high accuracy, their installation is often complex, costly, and disruptive to traffic. Recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms and vision-based measurement techniques offer a flexible, non-contact alternative; however, platform motion remains a major source of uncertainty. This study evaluates the accuracy and operational feasibility of UAV-based homography for static and dynamic displacement monitoring. The proposed approach is validated through three complementary experimental campaigns: a controlled calibration field test, a beam static load test, and bridge monitoring under traffic loading, with direct comparison to LVDT and RTS measurements. Under controlled conditions, sub-millimetre vertical precision was achieved, with RMSE values below 0.3 mm. In full-scale bridge applications, the method captured traffic-induced displacement trends with errors generally within 1–2 mm compared to LVDT data and with RMSE values below 1.4 mm. The results demonstrate that, when appropriate reference point configuration and imaging geometry are ensured, UAV-based homography provides a practical and sufficiently accurate solution for bridge displacement monitoring which is especially important in applications where sensor installation is difficult or unsafe.