I-Corps: Videogrammetric Roof Surveying System for Digital Fabrication of Sheet Metal Roof Panels

这项提案研究了一种结构化的假设/验证方法，以开发基于视频的屋顶测量技术的配置计划。与现有技术相比，该技术能够使用更便宜、更快、更安全和更简单的方法提取屋顶结构的竣工尺寸，同时能够满足所需的精度水平。如果成功，这将是世界上第一个同时具有上述特征的基于视频的屋顶测量方法。当使用它时，屋顶承包商只需使用摄像头从屋顶收集立体视频，并通过平板电脑的3G/4G功能将其发送到服务器。在该服务器上，检测到不同形式的视觉特征，并在场景的不同视图之间进行匹配；这允许链接视频中的可用信息并提取相应的3D信息。最终生成目标屋顶的3D接线图，其中包括每个平面的竣工尺寸。在板材屋面行业中，这项技术的输出可以输入到现场滚压成型机中，将板材卷曲成型并切割成精密的、随时可以安装的屋面板。该项目有可能使屋顶行业达到许多其他行业使用的现代CAD/CAM标准，并有可能解决现有屋顶测量方法的固有缺陷。与卷尺测量相比，这项技术的使用将显著降低测量成本，并消除员工面临坠落危险的风险，从而减少屋顶行业发生的非常高的职业伤害和坠落死亡人数(2009年私人建筑死亡人数的7%)。该方法的简单性将消除对训练有素的测量员的需要，他们是用全站仪进行测量所必需的。这种基于视频的屋顶测量技术几乎可以被世界各地的任何屋顶承包商使用。除了最初的目标行业(即屋顶)外，它还可以适用于许多其他建筑行业，在这些行业中，需要竣工文件才能建造组件。它还有可能用于任何需要卷尺测量的室内和室外应用，如商业扩建、厨房和浴室橱柜或台面、地板、窗户安装和壁板。反过来，这将节省时间和成本，从而提高建造业的效率。

This proposal investigates a structured hypothesis / validation approach to develop a disposition plan for a video-based roof-surveying technology. This technology is capable of extracting as-built dimensions of a roof structure using a less expensive, faster, safer, and simpler method compared to the existing techniques, while being able to satisfy the required level of accuracy. If successful, it will be the world's first video-based roof surveying method that has the mentioned features at the same time. When using it, a roofing contractor will simply collect stereo videos from a roof using a camera set and send it to a server via the 3G/4G capability of a Tablet PC. At this server, different forms of visual features are detected and matched across different views of the scene; this allows chaining the available information in the videos and extracting the corresponding 3D information. A 3D wire diagram of the target roof is finally generated which includes as-built dimensions of each plane. In the sheet metal roofing industry, the output of this technology can be imported to an on-site roll forming machine to roll form and cut sheet metal coil into precise, ready-to-install roof panels. This project has the potential to bring the roofing trade up to the modern standards of CAD/CAM used in many other industries and has the potential to address the inherent deficiencies of the existing methods for roof surveying. Compared to tape measuring, the use of this technology will significantly reduce measuring costs and also eliminate the exposure of employees to fall hazards, thereby decreasing the very high number of occupational injuries and fall deaths which occur in the roofing industry (7 percent of private construction fatalities in 2009). The simplicity of the method will remove the need for trained surveyors who are required for surveying with a total station. The video-based roof surveying technology could be used by virtually any roofing contractors worldwide. Beyond the initial target industry (i.e., roofing), it could be adapted to many of the other building trades where as-built documentation is required to build components. It has also the potential to be used in any indoor and outdoor application that requires tape measuring such as commercial build-outs, kitchen and bathroom cabinets or countertops, flooring, window installation, and siding. This, in turn, will result in time and cost savings, which could improve the efficiency of the construction industry.