ABSTRACT

Condition assessment of bridges evolved over the years with the advances in non-destructive evaluation technologies, field tests and structural health monitoring. As a result, technological advances changed the resources that bridge engineers can tap into; however, the requirement for practical, low-cost and effective approaches has remained the same. The writer and his research team have explored vision-based technologies to fulfill such requirements. In this paper, first the vision-based technologies will be presented along with capabilities and limitations. A review of basic concepts, available camera, lens and other peripherals are reviewed along with some of the algorithms for analyzing computer vision data. A framework of image-based structural identification is proposed to obtain structural parameters by using a full con-contact method on vision related techniques. By using a camera system, traffic over the bridge will be identified and classified into classes and sub-classes for vehicle weight estimation. Finally, some solutions and example applications from a laboratory bridge, a footbridge and a railroad bridge are presented.