2024 Webinar Series
Multi-User Collaboration in Augmented Reality for Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight Bridge Inspection Using Robotic Platforms
Presented: March 27, 2024, 10:00AM-11:00 AM Central Standard Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Dr. Genda Chen, Missouri University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT
The U.S. National Bridge Inventory has approximately 600,000 bridges that cross rivers and roadways. These elevated structures present access challenges, resulting in inefficient and ineffective routine inspections. Visual inspection often causes traffic interruption and safety concerns, leading to inherently inconsistent condition-state assignments depending on human factors. Robotic and sensing technologies will transform the manual inspection into automated bridge inspection toward data-driven bridge management. The current application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is limited to the visual line of sight, which is impractical for long-span bridges. In June 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved several organizations to fly unmanned vehicles beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). Even so, UAVs are prone to crashing during short flights and require pilot licensing and stable control for high-quality data collection. For long-span bridges and the overpasses of active roadways, there is a need to seek a complimentary robotic platform for the BVLOS inspection. In this presentation, we will instroduce an augmented reality framework for a multi-user collaborative system to support inspection tasks. In a case study, two inspectors collaborate at a simulated bridge site. The lead inspector ensures safety, collects visual inspection data, and retrieves historical information as needed for on-site defect investigation, while the assistant inspector navigates a magnetically-wheeled structural crawler and conducts ultrasonic thickness measurements on steel bridges or components. The virtual collaboration mechanism will be integrated into a Human-centered Automated Bridge Inspection Training Simuator (HABITS) for pilots/inspectors.
SPEAKER
Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1992 and joined Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) in 1996 after over three years of bridge design, inspection, and construction practices with Steinman Consulting Engineers in New York City. Since 1996, Dr. Chen has authored or co-authored over 400 technical publications in structural health monitoring (SHM), structural control, structural and robotic dynamics, computational and experimental mechanics, life-cycle assessment and deterioration mitigation of infrastructure, multi-hazards assessment and mitigation, transportation infrastructure preservation and resiliency including 217 journal papers, 5 book chapters, and 28 keynote and invited presentations at international conferences. He chaired the 9th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (SHMII-9), St. Louis, Missouri, August 4-7, 2019. He has been granted with one patent on distributed coax cable strain/crack sensors and two patents on enamel coating of steel reinforcing bars for corrosion protection and steel-concrete bond strength. He received the 2019 international SHM Person of the Year award, the 1998 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 2004 Academy of Civil Engineers Faculty Achievement Award, and the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Missouri S&T Faculty Research Awards. In 2016, he was nominated and inducted into the Academy of Civil Engineers at Missouri S&T and became an honorary member of Chi Epsilon. He is a Fellow of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), and the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII). He is a Section Editor of the Intelligent Sensors, Associate Editor of the Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, Associate Editor of Advances in Bridge Engineering, Editorial Board Member of Advances in Structural Engineering, and Vice President of the U.S. Panel on Structural Control and Monitoring.
Recent Development on Bridge Inspection Robot Deployment Systems (BIRDS)
Present: June 26, 2024, 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Dr. Genda Chen, Missouri University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT
To meet federal requirements for new data collection, Bridge Inspection Robot Deployment Systems (BIRDS) at the INSPIRE University Transportation Center expand their capabilities for the field tests of real-world bridges. This webinar will introduce the design and testing of new robots that are interactive with bridges for high-quality inspection tasks, which is also applicable to local maintenance, and data fusion for 3D reconstruction to support bridge asset management. Specific strategies for the BIRDS advancement include: (1) A hybrid flying and traversing vehicle is attached to bridge girders as a stationary inspection platform to inspect bridge decks, girders, and piers and collect high-quality data from RGB and infrared cameras as well as a lidar scanner; (2) An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) carries and launches a small lightweight crawler to inspect steel members and connections in great details through a microscope or a crack probe; and (3) An UAV is equipped with an aerial manipulator for tele-maintenance, such as screwing and drilling tasks, and nondestructive testing, such as ground penetrating radar, of reinforced concrete members for defect detection and localization. More than 42% of over 617,000 U.S. bridges are 50 years (design life) or older. It is thus imperative to meet more frequent and more rigorous preservation needs to ensure that the aging infrastructure is safe during everyday operations and resilient to increasing catastrophic events associated with climate change. In recent years, inspection data are increasingly being used to support a more proactive approach of asset management to make structures not only safe but also maintainable to minimize life-cycle costs. This broadening of inspection scope requires a significant shift in practice from fully visual inspection to partially visual inspection supplemented with advanced technologies such as remote sensing, nondestructive evaluation, and structural monitoring. These technologies enable the implementation of objective decision-making processes in asset management and the understanding of infrastructure resilience.
SPEAKER
2017-2024 Emerging Technologies and Milestone Achievements
toward Automated Bridge Inspection and Maintenance
Present: October 30, 2024, 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Dr. Genda Chen, Missouri University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT
Main hardware and software systems developed in the INSPIRE University Transportation Center from 2017 to 2024
will be presented. Their characteristic parameters, operation procedures, performance metrics, advantages over the
state of practice, and application limitations will be summarized. These systems incluses, but not limited to,
Flying and climbing robots for high-quality data collection from remote sensing and nondestructive testing,
Explainable artificial intelligence and machine learning for element segmentation and defect classification,
3D reconstruction and digital twins for virtual inspection,
Framework for the probability of detection for various defects and damage from in-situ sensors,
Defect detection, location, quantificaton, and visualization, and
Pilot/inspector training simulator for the use of advanced technologies in automated bridge inspection.
SPEAKER
Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1992 and joined Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) in 1996 after over three years of bridge design, inspection, and construction practices with Steinman Consulting Engineers in New York City. Since 1996, Dr. Chen has authored or co-authored over 400 technical publications in structural health monitoring (SHM), structural control, structural and robotic dynamics, computational and experimental mechanics, life-cycle assessment and deterioration mitigation of infrastructure, multi-hazards assessment and mitigation, transportation infrastructure preservation and resiliency including 217 journal papers, 5 book chapters, and 28 keynote and invited presentations at international conferences. He chaired the 9th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (SHMII-9), St. Louis, Missouri, August 4-7, 2019. He has been granted with one patent on distributed coax cable strain/crack sensors and two patents on enamel coating of steel reinforcing bars for corrosion protection and steel-concrete bond strength. He received the 2019 international SHM Person of the Year award, the 1998 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 2004 Academy of Civil Engineers Faculty Achievement Award, and the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Missouri S&T Faculty Research Awards. In 2016, he was nominated and inducted into the Academy of Civil Engineers at Missouri S&T and became an honorary member of Chi Epsilon. He is a Fellow of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), and the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII). He is a Section Editor of the Intelligent Sensors, Associate Editor of the Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, Associate Editor of Advances in Bridge Engineering, Editorial Board Member of Advances in Structural Engineering, and Vice President of the U.S. Panel on Structural Control and Monitoring.
Multidimensional Digital Twin in the Built Environment to Support Multifunctional Modeling for Broader Impacts
Present: December 4, 2023, 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Dr. Genda Chen, Missouri S&T
ABSTRACT
Digital twin (DT) has been developed for a single function in most of previous studies. This study aims to empower DT with a multilayered integration of multifunctional and multidisciplinary models in the built environment. It starts with the development of a framework of three hierarchical tiers of regional, asset, and system DT modules, defines a new concept of the degree of digital twinning (DODT) to a real world by the number of models enabled by a common DT platform, enables spatiotemporal analysis in multiple scales to couple nonstructural with structural building components and connect the built environment to planning constructions, enables an integrated computational and informational modeling, and demonstrates multiple values of the DT of a university campus in asset lifecycle management. A mechanical model is used to evaluate the structural and nonstructural behavior of buildings under earthquake loads, allowing damage/cost scenario studies for community resilience in the wake of an extreme event. A multitask machine learning model is used to detect the type and material of building roofs from videos, allowing infrastructure planning for existing buildings. An informational model allows master planning for green space development, environmental planning for flood zone susceptibility, security protocol development, and energy harvesting and utilization. The DODT allows the value-driven digital replication of a physical twin at different levels and thus the value proposition of structural health monitoring in broader architectural and engineering practices. The DODT of the campus is eight, indicating that the DT has broader impacts on campus' asset lifecycle management.
SPEAKER
Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1992 and joined Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) in 1996 after over three years of bridge design, inspection, and construction practices with Steinman Consulting Engineers in New York City. Since 1996, Dr. Chen has authored or co-authored over 400 technical publications in structural health monitoring (SHM), structural control, structural and robotic dynamics, computational and experimental mechanics, life-cycle assessment and deterioration mitigation of infrastructure, multi-hazards assessment and mitigation, transportation infrastructure preservation and resiliency including 217 journal papers, 5 book chapters, and 28 keynote and invited presentations at international conferences. He chaired the 9th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (SHMII-9), St. Louis, Missouri, August 4-7, 2019. He has been granted with one patent on distributed coax cable strain/crack sensors and two patents on enamel coating of steel reinforcing bars for corrosion protection and steel-concrete bond strength. He received the 2019 international SHM Person of the Year award, the 1998 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 2004 Academy of Civil Engineers Faculty Achievement Award, and the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Missouri S&T Faculty Research Awards. In 2016, he was nominated and inducted into the Academy of Civil Engineers at Missouri S&T and became an honorary member of Chi Epsilon. He is a Fellow of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), and the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII). He is a Section Editor of the Intelligent Sensors, Associate Editor of the Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, Associate Editor of Advances in Bridge Engineering, Editorial Board Member of Advances in Structural Engineering, and Vice President of the U.S. Panel on Structural Control and Monitoring.
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