Context-Aware Information Access for Rapid On-Site Decision Making in Construction, Maintenance, and Inspection of Civil Infrastructure Systems

该项目的目标是设计、实现、验证和演示一种新的、独立的、上下文感知的信息技术（IT），该技术将自动为建造者、维护人员和侦察检查员提供准确的、优先的、上下文信息，以便在建造、维护和检查已建造设施期间做出关键的实时决策。研究目标将通过开发一个上下文传感框架来实现，该框架将使用GPS和无线定位技术的新颖组合，在任意室内/室外环境中准确跟踪移动用户的3D空间上下文。在给定时间，用户感兴趣的特定信息将通过高度精确地解释空间上下文来检索，从而使识别的上下文信息能够准确地优先排序。该项目的教育目标与研究密切相关，包括为建造者、工程师、检查员、研究人员和教育工作者举办的讲习班；课程发展及改善；以及招聘和留住最聪明的女性和少数族裔工程师的策略。这项研究是至关重要的，因为在需要的时候，无法识别和获取相关信息是阻碍建造者、工程师和维护人员快速做出最佳决策的主要障碍，也是阻碍对破坏已建成基础设施的事件（如地震）做出反应的侦察检查员的主要障碍。这个项目的成功将显著提高工地的生产率、准确性和安全性，并使当前的操作、维护和建筑侦察实践有了重大飞跃，这些实践通常是容易出错的、耗时的、劳动密集型的和原始的。研究成果将适用于解决广泛的工程问题，在建筑和土木工程，以及其他领域，如制造业，造船，运输。该项目将极大地帮助研究生和本科生的职业发展，包括女性和少数民族工程师，他们将积极参与研究活动，准备成为明天的工程师。该项目将导致新的软件工具和培训材料，将广泛分发给建筑、设施管理、侦察研究和专业社区，以加强科学和技术的理解。

The objective of this project is to design, implement, validate, and demonstrate a new, self-contained, context-aware Information Technology (IT) that will automatically provide constructors, maintenance crews, and reconnaissance inspectors with accurate, prioritized, contextual information for making critical, real-time decisions during construction, maintenance, and inspection of constructed facilities. The research objective will be achieved by developing a context-sensing framework that will accurately track a mobile user's 3D spatial context in an arbitrary indoor/outdoor environment using a novel combination of GPS and wireless positioning technologies. Specific information of interest to a user at a given time will then be retrieved by interpreting spatial context with a high level of precision, allowing the identified contextual information to be accurately prioritized. The project's educational objectives are intricately related to the research, and include workshops for constructors, engineers, inspectors, researchers, and educators; curriculum development and improvement; and strategies to recruit and retain the brightest women and minority engineers.This research is critical because the inability to identify and access relevant information at times of need is the primary obstacle that prevents rapid and optimal decision-making by constructors, engineers, and maintenance crews, as well as by reconnaissance inspectors who respond to events (e.g. earthquakes) that damage the built infrastructure. Success in this project will notably improve jobsite productivity, accuracy, and safety, as well as enable a significant leap over current practices of operation, maintenance, and building reconnaissance that are often error-prone, time consuming, labor intensive, and primitive. The research results will be applicable to solve a wide range of engineering problems in construction and civil engineering, as well as other domains such as manufacturing, shipbuilding, and transportation. This project will significantly help the career development of graduate and undergraduate students, including women and minority engineers who will actively participate in the research activities and prepare to become tomorrow's engineers. The project will lead to new software tools and training materials that will be widely distributed to the construction, facilities management, and reconnaissance research and professional communities to enhance scientific and technological understanding.