NRI: Large: Collaborative Research: Fast and Accurate Infrastructure Modeling and Inspection with Low-Flying Robots

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The goal of this project is to transform the efficiency, fidelity, and safety of current critical infrastructure inspection methods by combining human judgment with machine intelligence through the development of an autonomous robotic inspection assistant. The proposed work utilizes small aerial robots, coupled with three-dimensional imaging and the state-of-the-art in planning, modeling, and analysis to develop safe and efficient, high-precision assessment of structures. The key themes of the proposed work are: (1) rapid infrastructure modeling and analysis of large complex structures via a small autonomous aerial robot with 3D mapping capabilities; (2) immersive inspection and structural assessment to combine shape and appearance into an integrated representation amenable to structural health evaluation by an inspector; and (3) adaptive aerial vehicle motion plans that seek to learn from the experience of human inspectors and facilitate as autonomous inspection assistants. The proposed work is exploring the role of humans in the entire cycle from deployment of flying robots to registering data to the assessment. This project brings together members of participating communities and is developing curriculum to engage undergraduate and graduate students from robotics and civil engineering in the proposed research.