Runway Inspection AI

Bring real-time intelligence to every runway inspection with Roboflow Vision AI for runway inspection. Built for airports where a small piece of FOD can damage an engine, where self-inspections happen several times a day in short runway windows, and where pavement and lighting problems are logged by hand.

FOD and wildlife:

• Detect FOD such as bolts, tire pieces, and debris on runways, taxiways, and aprons from vehicle or fixed cameras, with a model trained on your own airfield, next to foreign object detection.
• Mark each item's location so the sweep team goes straight to it.
• Detect birds and wildlife on or near the runway.

Pavement condition:

• Find cracks, spalls, joint seal damage, and potholes on runway and taxiway pavement, from vehicle and drone imagery.
• Detect rubber build-up in touchdown zones to plan removal.
• Map each defect by location so pavement engineers can plan repairs and track change over time.

Lights and markings:

• Detect broken, missing, and dirty edge, centerline, and touchdown zone lights.
• Flag faded, chipped, and rubber-covered markings and signs.
• Log each self-inspection finding with an image and location for the airfield record.

Bring intelligence to every runway inspection today. Stop FOD and pavement damage from becoming engine damage, closures, and delays.

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Frequently asked questions

What is runway inspection with Vision AI?

Runway inspection with Vision AI uses cameras on inspection vehicles, drones, and fixed airfield positions and a trained computer vision model (opens in a new tab) to find FOD, pavement cracks and spalls, damaged lights, faded markings, rubber build-up, and wildlife on runways and taxiways, then map each finding for the airfield team. It builds on foreign object detection, crack detection, and drone inspection.

Can Vision AI find small FOD during a fast runway inspection?

Yes. High-resolution cameras on the inspection vehicle capture the full runway width as it drives, and a model trained on your own airfield finds small objects such as bolts, safety wire, and tire fragments against the pavement, grooves, and markings. Each item is flagged with its location during the pass, so it can be picked up before the runway reopens.

Does runway inspection support Part 139 and FAA advisory circulars?

Runway inspection supports daily self-inspections under 14 CFR Part 139 (certification of airports), FOD programs under FAA AC 150/5210-24 (airport foreign object debris management), pavement maintenance under FAA AC 150/5380-6 (guidelines for maintenance of airport pavements), and ICAO Annex 14 (aerodrome design and operations), with image and location records for each finding.

Roboflow serves as the detection engine, and your airfield operations and maintenance teams own inspections, runway closures, and repairs.

Can it integrate with our airfield management and maintenance systems?

Yes. Roboflow sends findings, locations, and images over REST (opens in a new tab) or MQTT, or writes them to a database, so they feed airfield self-inspection tools, maintenance management systems such as IBM Maximo, and GIS platforms such as Esri ArcGIS for pavement management. FOD alerts can go to operations and sweep crews on tablets in real time.

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