SBIR Phase II: Use of Robotic Inspection and Data Analytics to Localize and Visualize the Structural Defects of Civil Infrastructure

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力旨在生产两个机器人系统，用于地面测量应用和垂直表面检查，使用相机和探地雷达（GPR）检测和可视化混凝土结构中的表面缺陷和地下嵌入。该仪器可以减少在民用基础设施中布置网格线的时间、难度和成本，并且使得可以在最少的人为干预的情况下在难以接近的位置处自动化数据收集。机器人检查系统的使用可以允许更快、更彻底地执行评估和检查任务，对工人的安全风险最小，并且通过消除对脚手架和阻塞交通的需要而以更低的成本执行。拟议的研究和开发可能会推进最先进的机器人技术，并生产攀爬机，基于视觉的精确定位和3D探地雷达（GPR）成像软件，作为改善GPR数据收集，解释和可视化方式的整体解决方案。该解决方案可以扩展到其他无损检测（NDT）应用，并可能有助于使国家基础设施（例如，桥梁、隧道、大坝和建筑物）更加安全。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目旨在提高基于视觉的定位和3D GPR成像算法的准确性和鲁棒性，同时开发新的软件功能，并将其集成到部署用于检查两个地面的两个机器人系统中（例如，桥面和公路路面）和垂直表面（例如，建筑立面和桥梁基础）。该项目的智力价值是自动化3D GPR数据收集和成像方法，该方法将机器人控制和基于视觉的精确定位与GPR信号处理相结合，用于定位地下缺陷和嵌入（钢筋，管道，裂缝，空隙，分层等）。在混凝土结构中。这种方法使机器人能够以任意和不规则的轨迹而不是沿着网格线扫描表面，以定位表面下的目标并发现分层区域。在每个采样步骤中以同步的方式用准确的位置信息标记GPR测量值，从而实现高分辨率3D GPR成像。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to produce two robotic systems for ground survey applications and inspection of vertical surfaces to detect and visualize both surface flaws and subsurface embedment in concrete structures using a camera and a ground penetrating radar (GPR). The instrumentation may reduce the time, difficulty, and cost to layout gridlines in civil infrastructure and make it possible to automate data collection at difficult-to-access locations with minimum human intervention. The use of the robotic inspection systems may allow the evaluation and inspection tasks to be performed faster, more thoroughly, with minimal safety risks to workers, and at a lower cost by eliminating the need for scaffolding and blocking traffic. The proposed research and development may advance the state-of-the-art robotic technology and produce climbing machines, vision-based accurate positioning, and 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) imaging software as a holistic solution to improve the way GPR data is collected, interpreted, and visualized. The solution can be extended to other non-destructive testing (NDT) applications and may help make the national infrastructure (e.g., bridges, tunnels, dams, and buildings) more secure. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to improve the accuracy and robustness of vision-based positioning and 3D GPR imaging algorithms while developing new software functions and integrating them into two robotic systems deployed to inspect both ground surfaces (e.g., bridge decks and highway pavement) and vertical surfaces (e.g., building facades and bridge foundations). The intellectual merit of this project is the automated 3D GPR data collection and imaging method that combines robotic control and vision-based accurate positioning with GPR signal processing for locating the subsurface defects and embedment (rebar, pipes, fractures, voids, delamination, etc.) in concrete structures. This method enables the robots to scan the surfaces in arbitrary and irregular trajectories rather than along gridlines to locate subsurface targets and discover the areas of delamination. Tagging the GPR measurements with accurate position information in a synchronized way at each sampling step enables high-resolution 3D GPR imaging.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.