Mount for drones created by St. Mary's students can better inspect bridges

Mount can keep human inspectors out of dangerous situations

SAN ANTONIO – Engineering students from St. Mary’s University have created a new device to make drones more useful when inspecting bridges.

Students created a 3D printed top mounting camera system.

“This is something that could really push the industry, use technology to improve humanity, improve the safety to others,” student Andres Cuellar said.

The students said it can keep human inspectors out of dangerous situations.

“What it meant for is to make it a lot easier for people to find the trouble areas and then these construction crews can go in and solve the issue,” student Nacer Ibaroudene said.

“Instead of going out there and buy a drone that cost five figures in order to accomplish the same task, you can spend $150 to $200 on what we’ve done and accomplish the same thing,” student Preston Allen said.

It’s controllable from a smartphone app.

Students said the senior design project is more than just another assignment.

“In our engineering classes, they don’t teach us how to put a camera system on a drone; they teach us to be an engineer and how to solve problems,"” Cuellar said.


About the Authors:

Tiffany Huertas is a reporter for KSAT 12 known for her in-depth storytelling and her involvement with the community.

Jason Foster is an executive producer at KSAT. He's worked in the news industry in Texas for more than 15 years, including as a photojournalist, and been at KSAT since 2015.