According to the 2017 ASCE Report Card, 39% and 15% of 614,387 bridges in the U.S. are more than 50 years and 40 to 49 years, respectively. The number of deficient bridges is increasing. One of the most common causes of reinforced concrete deterioration is corrosion of steel reinforcing bars. Currently, most bridges are visually inspected every two years using boom/snooper trucks to get access to various areas to be inspected. The subjective visual inspection often leads to inconsistent results that are less useful in bridge management. Hyperspectral camera, installed on an unmanned aerial vehicle, can potentially supplement visual inspection with quantifiable and reliable imagery from remote and safe operations. It can be used to identify physical characteristics (e.g., concrete cracks)and characterize chemical features (e.g., steel corrosion)
