THE USE OF UAVS IN ASSESSING SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF EXISTING URM BUILDINGS

This paper explores the use of drones in assessing the seismic resistance of existing buildings. The use of drones, combined with advanced data processing systems, enables remote assessment of structures. The significant advantage of this approach is particularly evident when evaluating hard-to-reach areas, such as roofs and chimneys, reducing the risk to engineers and accelerating the process. The paper provides a critical review of the challenges associated with drone application and proposes further optimization of these methods. In the second part of the paper, a case study is presented to demonstrate the practical application of some of these methods. A drone equipped with an RGB camera and a LIDAR sensor was used to capture and analyze 11 selected buildings, with the data processed using specialized software tools. A macroseismic analysis was also conducted to assess the vulnerability of the analyzed buildings to earthquakes. The results show that drones significantly contribute to seismic risk assessment, providing faster and safer access, especially in urban areas.