The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is based on the economic and safety benefits that arise from the improved inspection and maintenance of infrastructure assets. Assets in this context can refer to transportation systems such as bridges and roadways, energy sector systems such as offshore oil platforms and pipelines, or telecommunications towers, all of which must be routinely inspected for safety and functionality. The 'asset intelligence' platform will potentially benefit not only asset owner/operators, but infrastructure stakeholders and the general public by providing a more comprehensive record and understanding of infrastructure performance, improving strategic planning and maintenance processes, and optimizing total impact and cost of ownership. Beyond the economic benefits that improved decision-support software will provide to customers, improvements to inspection processes will also benefit the safety of the general public.
This I-Corps project will explore new solutions to the challenges of infrastructure inspection and management. During an inspection, a range of information is collected about an asset, including inspector observations, images, sensor readings, and nondestructive testing results. Challenges persist in the efficient and effective exploitation of this data, limiting its value and frequently resulting in overly conservative and economically sub-optimal decisions about an asset. This projects envisions a new process for integrating and visualizing inspection information by creating a 'digital twin' of an asset. Using a novel 3D modeling process, a virtual reality model of an asset can be generated. A broad range of inspection and environmental data is then overlaid on this model, serving as the data-of-record over the lifetime of the asset, and providing data continuity in support of real-time, synoptic, and forensic analyses. These digital twins can be accessed through conventional computers and subsequently through virtual and augmented reality platforms to improve field inspection processes.
