Abrupt climate changes cause increasing occurrence of rockfalls which are significant and ongoing threat to infrastructure network, particularly for those located within steep terrain. Better understanding and timing where to focus attention for this matter is crucial for the infrastructure companies, which can avoid high cost of damages caused by rockfall hazards. Hazard analysis has historically relied on visual inspection of experienced field engineers assessing each site, which is not time or cost effective. In recent years, the usage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is becoming increasingly common, especially for applications concerning natural disasters. By using unmanned aerial vehicles the traditional methods of mapping, determining the volume, cross-sections, contours and other parameters that are required for rockfall engineering analysis can be altered, improved, or even completely replaced. The paper presents the legislation and scientific research initiatives for determining the volume of boulders with unmanned aerial vehicles.

boulder; ortophoto maps; point cloud; rockfalls; transport infrastructure; Unmanned Aerial Vehicles