New Technology at U.S. Bank Stadium Reduces Cost, Improves Safety of Structural Inspections

U.S. Bank Stadium is the center of a unique collaboration that includes Northland Community and Technical College (NCTC, of Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks), St. Cloud State University (SCSU), and the National Science Foundation to create technology that allows unmanned aircraft systems (drones) to capture high-resolution images of buildings and other structures and project them onto three-dimensional models. The first-of-its-kind technology is being used by the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority, which operates U.S. Bank Stadium, to quickly, safely, and efficiently conduct a comprehensive survey of the exterior of the stadium for warranty, maintenance monitoring, and facility management applications.

“Drone technology is cost effective, safe, and reliable,” said Michael Vekich, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority. “The drone’s high definition photographs of the stadium’s exterior will provide a historical record to assist in building maintenance monitoring and warranty management in a unique digital platform that can pinpoint specific locations for review.”

Building inspections are a powerful application for drones because they can conduct inspections in a faster and safer manner than manual building inspections. In the example of U.S. Bank Stadium, drones can access exterior parts of the stadium that would be very difficult for workers to access safely, especially during the winter months. Using drones to conduct these inspections is more reliable for creating an historical record, and also saves taxpayer dollars.