Charles Dickerson

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Charles Dickerson is a leading figure in the field of civil infrastructure inspection, with a specialized focus on the aging hydraulic assets managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). His key research areas center on the development of unmanned systems for critical infrastructure assessment, particularly for earth dams and their outlet works. Dickerson’s most notable contribution is the conceptualization and design of DAMBOTTM, an unmanned amphibious vehicle created to perform detailed internal inspections of dam outlets—a task that is both dangerous and logistically challenging for human teams. This work, detailed in his 2023 paper "DAMBOTTM: An Unmanned Amphibious Vehicle for Earth Dam Outlet Inspection," has garnered attention for addressing a pressing national need: many of the hundreds of USACE-owned locks and dams have exceeded their design life, making regular, safe inspections critical. While his citation count is currently modest, the practical significance of his research is substantial, positioning him as an innovator in robotic inspection for civil engineering. Dickerson’s work directly supports the long-term safety and maintenance of vital water infrastructure across the United States.