A Review of Developments and Challenges of Preflight Preparation for Data Collection of UAV-based Infrastructure Inspection

As Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) undergo rapid development, they have begun playing diverse roles across various industries, including infrastructure inspections. The evolution of UAV technology has addressed safety concerns for inspectors, offering efficient data collection capabilities. Furthermore, the development of advanced data processing algorithms enhances the appeal and viability of UAV-based infrastructure inspections. However, a pivotal challenge in UAV-based infrastructure inspection revolves around ensuring data quality, as it can be influenced by various factors. High-quality data serves as the cornerstone for effective and reliable UAV-based infrastructure inspections. Ensuring effective preflight preparation and planning for data collection is critical to achieving high-quality data. Addressing this issue will enhance the overall quality of UAV-based infrastructure inspections and maximize the benefits derived from UAVs. In this review, the progress and obstacles associated with preflight preparation for the data collection phase will be discussed from hardware selection and flight path planning perspectives.