Realizing Digitized Infrastructure Inspections via AI, Automation, and Sensing
CME Department Seminar
April 26, 2024
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM America/Chicago
Presenter: Mohamad Alipour, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Location: ERF 1047
Abstract: Interest in automating visual inspections of critical infrastructure has rapidly risen in recent years. Research on ground, aerial, and marine robotic systems with sensing capabilities and autonomous navigation for structural inspections has also gained heightened traction. However, there is a significant gap in fully integrated systems that go beyond assisted image capture and data collection systems. To create autonomous systems that can deliver human-level actionable inspection output, there is a need for advancements in automated systems equipped with AI-based detections. An improved understanding of how human inspectors perform different tasks is also critical in integrating human expertise. This talk presents the components of a performance-based Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) mission planning framework that integrates sensing, AI, and human expertise. This framework minimizes costs and battery power, while delivering the different tasks required for human-level inspections, including coverage, surface detections, and subsurface evaluations. Finally, the talk will conclude with future works in each of these directions toward the vision of digitized inspections of future smart cities.
Speaker Bio: Mohamad Alipour is a research assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). Alipour's research focuses on scalable digitization and automation to tackle the challenges facing our built and natural environments by harnessing big data. His work integrates sensing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence with structural engineering domain expertise. Prior to joining UIUC, Alipour was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA and received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, where he worked in the Cyber-Physical Systems Link Lab.
Date posted
Apr 22, 2024
Date updated
Apr 22, 2024