Multipoint Displacement Monitoring System - Su Taylor and Myra Lydon
Conference Website: http://saiconference.com/CVC
Abstract - This paper develops a synchronized multi-camera contactless vision based multiple point displacement measurement system using wireless action cameras. Displacement measurements can provide a valuable insight into the structural condition and service behavior of bridges under live loading. Traditional means of obtaining displacement readings include displacement gauges or GPS based systems which can be limited in terms of accuracy and access. Computer Vision systems can provide a promising alternative means of displacement calculation, however existing systems in use are limited in scope by their inability to reliably track multiple points on a long span bridge structure. The system introduced in this paper provides a low-cost durable alternative which is rapidly deployable. Commercial action cameras were paired with an industrially validated solution for synchronization to provide multiple point displacement readings. The performance of the system was evaluated in a series of controlled laboratory tests. This included the development of displacement identification algorithms which were rigorously tested and validated against fiber optic displacement measurements. The results presented in this paper provide the knowledge for a step change in the application current vision based Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems which can be cost prohibitive and provides rapid method of obtaining data which accurately relates to measured bridge deflections.
About the Speaker - Su Taylor is a professor of structural engineering and the Dean of research for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Science at Queens University Belfast. She is currently vice president for the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure. She has a track record in attracting research funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Technology Strategy Board, the Department of Transport and Knowledge Transfer Partnership. She holds a number of current grants for the development of structural health monitoring systems for road and off shore concrete structures. A prioritization of her research and development is to safeguard the integrity of our built environment; the components and the end users and her research activity aims to promote this. She has provided significant advancement the area of intelligent sensing technologies with the use of advanced concretes and composites in, and for, the built environment through collaborative research and to foster her external links both nationally and internationally. Most recently she was responsible for obtaining a US-Ireland grant which facilitated the development of a vision based structural heath monitoring system.
Dr Myra Lydon is a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow at Queens University Belfast. She was awarded her PhD in Civil Engineering in 2016 under the supervision of Prof Su Taylor. Her research focused on the development of the world’s first fibre optic bridge weigh in motion system. The findings of the research subsequently led to follow on funding for the investigation into the suitability vision-based techniques for bridge monitoring. The research was funded under a US-Ireland program in collaboration with the University of Central Florida and University College Dublin. This has resulted in the successful implementation of a wireless multicamera system which was capable of measuring bridge displacement to 0.05mm accuracy in the field. Myra is an active ambassador for the digital transformation of the civil engineering sector demonstrated though her position on the Intuition of Civil Engineers Digital Group. Last year Myra secured a 5-year Fellowship to investigate the benefits of network wide implementation of sensor and vision based structural heath monitoring systems on the road network. SMART Infrastructure aims to enhance the resilience of road networks through data analytics and greater interoperability across asset management systems.