Information processing device

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an index for ascertaining whether a crack requires repair. [Solution] An information processing device comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires crack information pertaining to a crack location in a structure; and an output unit that, on the basis of the acquired crack information, outputs the severity of the crack location.

Description

Information processing device

[0001] The technology of the present disclosure relates to an information processing device.

[0002] Fatigue cracks may occur in steel structures during use. Therefore, a device for detecting whether fatigue cracks have occurred in steel structures has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Re-table 2015 / 056790 publication

[0004] However, not all discovered fatigue cracks require immediate repair depending on the condition of the crack. However, in the past, all discovered fatigue cracks were repaired, which was costly and time-consuming.

[0005] The technology of the present disclosure aims to provide an information processing device that can provide an index for determining whether or not a crack requires repair.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an information processing device of a first aspect of the technology disclosed herein comprises an acquisition unit that acquires crack information of a crack location in a structure, and an output unit that outputs the severity of the crack location based on the acquired crack information.

[0007] The first aspect of the technology disclosed herein outputs the severity of the crack position based on the acquired crack information of the crack location in the structure, thereby providing an indicator for determining whether the crack truly requires repair.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an overall image of an information processing system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of an information acquisition device 50 according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a creation device 70. FIG. 4 is a block diagram explaining the processing content of the functional units of the processor 54 of the information acquisition device 50. FIG. 5 is a block diagram explaining the processing content of the functional units of the processor 74 of the creation device 70. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an information acquisition program 58. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a severity map and repair schedule creation program 76P. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a severity map. FIG. 9 is an example of a schedule. FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining an example of optimizing the shape of a structure.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the technology of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an overall image of an information processing system according to this embodiment. The information processing system includes an information acquisition device 50 that measures and transmits crack information for each of a plurality of crack locations in a structure 150.

[0011] The structure 150 is, for example, a structure made of metal, such as a steel structure, a building, a bridge, or a crane, which is susceptible to the occurrence of fatigue cracks.

[0012] The information acquisition device 50 is a robot capable of traveling on the wall surface of the structure 150. The information acquisition device 50 may be an unmanned aerial vehicle, such as a drone, a radio-controlled airplane, or a radio-controlled helicopter.

[0013] The information acquisition device 50 (robot, unmanned aerial vehicle) is an example of a "remotely controlled device" of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0014] The information processing system also includes a creation device 70 that acquires (i.e., receives) each piece of crack information transmitted from the information acquisition device 50, outputs the severity of each crack position based on each piece of acquired crack information, and creates a severity map of crack locations in the structure and a planning table for repairing multiple crack locations.

[0015] The creation device 70 is an example of the "information processing device" of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0016] 2 is a block diagram of an example of an information acquisition device 50 according to this embodiment. The information acquisition device 50 includes a computer 52, a storage device 62, a communication device 65, a motor drive device 92, a suction unit 94, and a crack information acquisition unit 96.

[0017] The computer 52 includes a processor 54, a non-volatile memory (NVM) 56, and a random access memory (RAM) 60. The processor 54, the NVM 56, and the RAM 60 are connected to a bus 66. The NVM 56 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0018] The processor 54 is a processing device including a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and the DSP and GPU operate under the control of the CPU and are responsible for executing the processes described below. Here, a processing device including a DSP, a CPU, and a GPU is given as an example of the processor 54, but this is merely an example, and the processor 54 may be one or more CPUs and DSPs with integrated GPU functionality, one or more CPUs and DSPs without integrated GPU functionality, or may be equipped with a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit).

[0019] The NVM 56 is a non-volatile storage device that stores various programs, various parameters, etc. An example of the NVM 60 is a flash memory (for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory)). The RAM 60 is a memory that temporarily stores information and is used as a work memory by the processor 54. An example of the RAM 60 is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM).

[0020] In this embodiment, an information acquisition program 58 is stored in the NVM 56. The processor 54 loads the information acquisition program 58 into the RAM 60 and executes it. When the processor 54 executes the information acquisition program 58, the processor 54 functions as a driving processing unit 54A, a determination unit 54B, a measurement unit 54C, and a communication processing unit 54D. The information acquisition program 58 may be stored in the storage device 62.

[0021] The storage device 62 is a non-volatile storage device, such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

[0022] The communication device 65 is an interface including a communication processor, an antenna, etc., and is connected to the bus 66. The communication standard applied to the communication device 65 is a wireless communication standard including, for example, 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication System), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0023] The information acquisition device 50 has four wheels 68 near the four corners of the housing 55, and is configured to be able to freely move within the supply area by moving forward, backward, turning right, and turning left. Each of the four wheels 68 of the information acquisition device 50 has a motor 68M that rotates the wheel 68, and each of the motors 68M is driven by a motor drive unit 92.

[0024] The information acquisition device 50 can move forward or backward by changing the rotation direction of the four wheels 68. The information acquisition device 50 can also turn left or right by controlling the rotation speed of each of the four wheels 68. For example, when the information acquisition device 50 turns right, the rotation speed of the two wheels 68 on the right side of the information acquisition device 50 is reduced more than the rotation speed of the wheels 68 on the left side. When the information acquisition device 50 turns left, the rotation speed of the two wheels 68 on the left side of the information acquisition device 50 is reduced more than the rotation speed of the wheels 68 on the right side.

[0025] The motor drive device 92 modulates power based on a control signal from the processor 54 via the bus 66 and supplies it to the motor 68M. If the motor 68M is a three-phase synchronous motor such as a brushless motor, the motor drive device 92 is an inverter that applies a three-phase AC-like voltage obtained by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) DC power to the windings of the motor 68M. Based on a command from the measurement unit 54C, the motor drive device 92 changes the frequency and effective voltage of the three-phase AC-like voltage supplied to each motor 68M, thereby changing the rotational speed and rotation direction of the motor 68M and causing the information acquisition device 50 to move forward, backward, turn right, or turn left.

[0026] The suction unit 94 sucks the wall surface of the structure 150 by sucking air.

[0027] In this embodiment, the information acquisition device 50 is moved along the wall surface by rotating the wheels 68 while being held against the wall surface by air suction using the suction unit 94. If the wall surface is made of a magnetic material such as steel, the suction unit 94 may hold the information acquisition device 50 against the wall surface by magnetic suction instead of air suction.

[0028] The crack information acquisition unit 96 includes a probe (transducer) that measures the size and shape of the crack location, and a laser shape measuring device that measures the local shape around the crack location.

[0029] Specifically, the probe is a device for transmitting ultrasonic waves and receiving reflected waves. The crack information acquisition unit 96 measures the size and shape of the crack by performing ultrasonic testing (UT) using the probe.

[0030] The crack information acquisition unit 96 is not limited to using a probe, but may measure the size and shape of the crack location using a phased array, flaw detection spray, fluorescent magnetic particles, or image analysis.

[0031] A phased array is a device used in ultrasonic flaw detection testing that arranges multiple individually controllable piezoelectric elements in an array and electronically controls the ultrasonic beams from these piezoelectric elements. A flaw detection spray is a device in which a fluorescent flaw detection liquid is applied to the surface of a structure, and then UV (ultraviolet) light is shone on it to brightly highlight cracks and measure the size and shape of the cracks. Specifically, a method of measuring the size and shape of cracks using fluorescent magnetic particles involves spraying fluorescent magnetic particles on a wall surface, and if a crack is found in the wall, the magnetic particles gather in the cracked area, and the fluorescent reaction is confirmed by irradiating it with black light (ultraviolet).

[0032] The laser shape measuring device is equipped with a laser light irradiator and a detector that detects reflected light from the crack location, and measures the shape of the local area around the crack location by geometrically calculating the distance to each position based on the positional relationship between the irradiator, each local position around the crack location, and the detector. The device for measuring the local shape of the crack location is not limited to a laser shape measuring device, and a contact shape measuring device may also be used. A contact shape measuring device measures the coordinates of the local area by contacting a probe with the local area around the crack location, thereby measuring the shape of the local area.

[0033] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the creation device 70. The creation device 70 includes a computer 72, a storage device 82, a display device 78, a UI device 84, and a communication device 86.

[0034] The communication device 86 is an example of the "acquisition unit" of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0035] The computer 72 includes a processor 74, an NVM 76, and a RAM 80. The processor 74, the NVM 76, and the RAM 80 are connected to a bus 88. The bus 88 is also connected to a storage device 82, a display device 78, a UI device 84, and a communication device 86.

[0036] A severity map and repair schedule creation program 76P is stored in the NVM 76. The NVM 76 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The processor 74 loads the severity map and repair schedule creation program 76P into the RAM 80 and executes it. When the processor 74 executes the severity map and repair schedule creation program 76P, the processor 74 functions as a communication processing unit 74A, a calculation unit 74B, a determination unit 74C, a creation unit 74D, and a storage processing unit 74E. The severity map and repair schedule creation program 76P may be stored in the storage device 82.

[0037] The UI device 84 is an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch panel on the display device 78, and an interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0038] The display device 78 is a monitor such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

[0039] The communication device 86 is configured to be able to communicate with the communication device 65 of the information acquisition device 50 via wired or wireless communication.

[0040] The technology disclosed herein may use a mobile terminal device, such as a smartphone or tablet device, instead of the creation device 70 configured as described above. A program for instructing the operation of the information acquisition device 50 may be installed in such a mobile terminal device, and the operation of the information acquisition device 50 may be instructed by executing the program.

[0041] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the processing contents of the functional units of the processor 54 of the information acquisition device 50. As shown in FIG.

[0042] The measurement unit 54C controls the crack information acquisition unit 96 to check for the presence or absence of fatigue cracks.

[0043] The travel processing unit 54A controls the motor drive device 92 to cause the information acquisition device 50 to travel a predetermined distance on the surface of the steel structure.

[0044] The determination unit 54B determines whether or not a fatigue crack has been found based on the output from the crack information acquisition unit 96.

[0045] If it is determined that a fatigue crack has been found, the measurement unit 54C controls the crack information acquisition unit 96 to measure the size and shape of the fatigue crack location.

[0046] The determination unit 54B determines whether or not the inspection of all planned locations of the structure 150 has been completed.

[0047] When it is determined that the inspection of all planned locations of the structure has been completed, the communication processing unit 54D transmits the position, size, and shape of each fatigue crack location to the creation device 70.

[0048] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the processing contents of the functional units of the processor 74 of the creating device 70. As shown in FIG.

[0049] The communication processing unit 74A receives the position, size, and shape of each fatigue crack location transmitted from the information acquisition device 50 via the communication device 86.

[0050] The calculation unit 74B includes a stress calculation unit 74B1 that calculates the stress at the fatigue crack location, a crack confidential path calculation unit 74B2 that calculates the crack propagation path, and a severity calculation unit 74B3 that calculates the severity of the fatigue crack location.

[0051] The determination unit 74C determines whether the severity of all fatigue crack locations has been calculated.

[0052] The creation unit 74D includes a severity map creation unit 74D1 that creates a severity map of crack locations in the structure 150, and a repair planning table creation unit 74D2 that creates a repair planning table.

[0053] The storage processing unit 74E includes a severity map storage processing unit 74E1 that stores the severity map in the storage device 82, and a maintenance schedule storage processing unit 74E2 that stores the maintenance schedule in the storage device 82 in step 138.

[0054] (Operation) Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the information acquisition program 58. When the processor 54 executes the information acquisition program 58, the information acquisition process and the information acquisition method are performed.

[0055] In step 102, the measurement unit 54C controls the crack information acquisition unit 96 to check for the presence or absence of fatigue cracks, while the traveling processing unit 54A controls the motor drive unit 92 to cause the information acquisition device 50 to travel a predetermined distance on the surface of the steel structure.

[0056] In step 104, the judgment unit 54B judges whether a fatigue crack has been found based on the output from the crack information acquisition unit 96. As described above, the crack information acquisition unit 96 performs ultrasonic testing (UT) and judges whether a fatigue crack is present or not based on the reception state of the reflected wave. If a fatigue crack is present, it outputs a signal indicating that a fatigue crack has been found to the computer 52. If a signal indicating that a fatigue crack has been found is output from the crack information acquisition unit 96, the judgment in step 104 is a positive judgment, and if the signal is not output, the judgment in step 104 is a negative judgment. If it is determined that a fatigue crack has been found, the information acquisition process proceeds to step 106, and if it is not determined that a fatigue crack has been found, the information acquisition process proceeds to step 108.

[0057] In step 106, the measurement unit 54C controls the crack information acquisition unit 96 to measure the size and shape of the fatigue crack location. The shape includes the local shape of the fatigue crack location itself and the local shape around the fatigue crack location. The measurement unit 54C stores the size and shape of the fatigue crack location (local shape and local shape) in the NMV 56 in correspondence with the position of the fatigue crack location (determined in the processing of step 102).

[0058] In step 108, the judgment unit 54B judges whether or not the inspection of all planned locations of the structure 150 has been completed. The NMV 56 stores information indicating the structure of the structure 150, and this information includes information on the positions of the locations to be inspected of the structure 150. The positions at which the information acquisition device 50 traveled on the surface of the structure 150 in step 102 are also determined. Therefore, based on the information on the positions of the locations to be inspected of the structure 150 and the positions at which the information acquisition device 50 traveled on the surface of the structure 150 in step 102, the judgment unit 54B judges whether or not the inspection of all planned locations of the structure 150 has been completed.

[0059] If it is not determined that all planned locations of the structure have been inspected, the process returns to step 102 and the above processing (steps 102 to 108) is executed.

[0060] If it is determined that the inspection of all planned locations of the structure has been completed, in step 110, the communication processing unit 54D transmits the position, size, and shape (local shape and local shape) of each fatigue crack location to the creation device 70. The position, size, and shape (local shape and local shape) of each fatigue crack location is an example of the "crack information" of the technology disclosed herein.

[0061] When the processing of step 110 is completed, the execution of the information acquisition program 58 is completed.

[0062] 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the severity map and repair schedule creation program 76 P. The processor 74 executes the severity map and repair schedule creation program 76 P, thereby executing the severity map and repair schedule creation process and the severity map and repair schedule creation method.

[0063] In step 122, the communication processing unit 74A receives the position, size, and shape (local shape and local shape) of each fatigue crack location transmitted from the information acquisition device 50 (see step 110 in Figure 6) via the communication device 86.

[0064] In step 124, the calculation unit 74B (stress calculation unit 74B1) calculates the stress at the fatigue crack location. The NMV 76 stores information indicating the structure of the structure 150, including information on the material of each component of the structure 150 and information on the connections of each component to other components. The calculation unit 74B calculates the stress at the fatigue crack location from the information indicating the structure of the structure 150 and the location of the fatigue crack location.

[0065] In step 126, the calculation unit 74B (crack confidential path calculation unit 74B2) calculates the crack propagation path. Specifically, an analytical model is created of the local shape around the fatigue crack location from the shape of the fatigue crack location received in step 122, and the stress calculated in step 124 is applied to the analytical model to measure the fatigue crack propagation path. The fatigue crack propagation path is measured using, for example, the extended finite element method (X-FEM).

[0066] In step 128, the calculation unit 74B (severity calculation unit 74B3) calculates the severity of the fatigue crack location. The severity is a value indicating that a crack location with a high severity value is in greater need of repair than a crack location with a low severity value.

[0067] The severity of the fatigue crack locations is calculated by using the location, size, and shape (location shape and local shape) of each fatigue crack location to calculate the remaining life of the fatigue crack if the crack propagates along the crack propagation path calculated in step 126. This remaining life calculation can be performed using, for example, the method by Tsutsumi et al., a fracture mechanics method, or the method by Ding et al.

[0068] The method proposed by Tsutsumi et al. considers fatigue crack propagation as a continuous behavior of fatigue crack initiation at the crack tip. Specifically, the fatigue crack initiation life Nc at the fatigue crack tip is evaluated by cyclic elastic-plastic analysis of analytical models with various fatigue cracks. Then, a crack propagation parameter Δa is introduced, and the fatigue crack propagation rate and fatigue crack propagation life are evaluated by expressing da / dN = Δa / Nc.

[0069] The fracture mechanics method is a method for evaluating the fatigue crack growth life from the relationship between the crack length a and the stress intensity factor K. That is, the stress intensity factor K is calculated by elastic analysis of a structure with a fatigue crack, and by performing this analysis for various crack lengths, the relationship between the crack length a and the stress intensity factor K is obtained. The life is calculated by comparing this with the relationship between the crack growth rate da / dN and the stress intensity factor K based on an experimental database.

[0070] The method by Ding et al. focuses on the damage value D formed when cyclic elastic-plastic analysis is performed on a structure with a fatigue crack. In other words, the damage field A formed at the tip of the crack and the critical value D at which the material breaks are calculated. ０ The crack growth rate is expressed by the ratio of

[0071] The severity of the fatigue crack location may be calculated by calculating the remaining life of the fatigue crack by further considering the growth rate at which the crack grows along the crack growth path calculated in step 126 .

[0072] The crack growth rate can be calculated using, for example, a method of applying linear fracture mechanics to the crack growth path, the Tsutsumi Laboratory method, or the Ding et al. method.

[0073] Furthermore, by further considering the rate at which the crack grows along the crack growth path, the remaining life of the fatigue crack can also be calculated using the above-mentioned method by Tsutsumi et al., the fracture mechanics method, and the method by Ding et al.

[0074] Incidentally, the severity of a fatigue crack location may be determined by taking into consideration the coefficient of influence that the location of the crack occurrence location has on ensuring the performance of the structure 150 (i.e., safety factor). The safety factor is an index used to ensure the strength and safety of a structure. Specifically, the safety factor of the location of a crack occurrence location is a value that indicates the margin of safety before a crack at that location causes the structure 150 to break or undergo serious deformation, and is defined, for example, as follows: Safety factor = (maximum allowable load of structure) / (actual load applied) The larger this value, the safer the structure. For example, a safety factor of 2 indicates that the structure is designed to withstand a load twice the actual load.

[0075] When the severity of a fatigue crack location is determined taking into account a safety factor, the remaining life is multiplied by the safety factor to calculate a corrected remaining life. For example, even if the remaining life is a relatively short period, if the safety factor is greater than 1, that is, if the crack does not pose a significant problem to the performance and safety of the structure even if it grows, the corrected remaining life will be longer than the remaining life before correction.

[0076] The remaining life determined in this manner taking the safety factor into consideration (i.e., the corrected remaining life) is the severity at the fatigue crack location determined in consideration of the safety factor.

[0077] The severity of a fatigue crack location may be determined without taking into account the safety factor. That is, the severity of a fatigue crack location determined without taking into account the safety factor is the remaining life before correction.

[0078] The calculation unit 74B (severity calculation unit 74B3) in step 128 is an example of the "calculation unit" of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0079] In step 130, the judgment unit 74C judges whether the severity of all fatigue crack locations has been calculated. If it is determined that the severity of all fatigue crack locations has not been calculated, the severity map and repair schedule creation process returns to step 124, and the above processes (steps 124 to 130) are performed for the remaining fatigue crack locations. If it is determined that the severity of all fatigue crack locations has been calculated, the severity map and repair schedule creation process proceeds to step 132.

[0080] In step 132, the creation unit 74D (severity map creation unit 74D1) creates a severity map of crack locations in the structure 150, and in step 134, the storage processing unit 74E (severity map storage processing unit 74E1) stores the severity map in the storage device 82. Then, the display processing unit, which is a functional unit of the processor 74, displays the severity map (see FIG. 8 ) on the display device 78. Note that the display processing unit is an example of the "output unit" of the technology disclosed herein.

[0081] Here, the severity map is an image diagram that visualizes which crack locations in a structure should be repaired first.

[0082] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a severity map. The severity map shown in FIG. 8 is an example of a severity map of cracks 152 to 160 in a crane used to load and unload cargo onto and from a ship as a structure 150. The higher the severity, the darker the color, or the color changes from blue to red. For example, the severity of crack 160 is low, the severity of cracks 156 and 158 is higher than that of crack 160, and crack 152 is the most severe. In this case, the color of crack 160 is lighter or blue, the colors of cracks 156 and 158 are darker or yellow, and crack 152 is the darkest or red.

[0083] In step 136, the creation unit 74D (repair schedule creation unit 74D2) creates a repair schedule, and in step 138, the storage processing unit 74E (repair schedule storage processing unit 74E2) stores the repair schedule in the storage device 82. Then, the display processing unit, which is a functional unit of the processor 74, displays the repair schedule (see FIG. 9 ) on the display device 78.

[0084] Here, the planning table is a table in which each crack location is ordered according to priority, for making a plan for which crack location work should be started for a plurality of crack locations in a structure.

[0085] Fig. 9 is an example of a schedule. The schedule shown in Fig. 9 is an example of a schedule for a Metropolitan Expressway as a structure. The schedule is a table in which the location of the cracks, their severity, the remaining life of the structure (i.e., the period until demolition or the design service life (predetermined)), the repair deadline, and images of the cracks are sorted according to a priority determined according to the severity.

[0086] In the example shown in Figure 9, for example, the severity of a crack located 100 m east of Entrance A is 6 months, the remaining life of the structure is 7 months, the priority is 1, the repair deadline is January 31, 2025, and an image of the crack is listed.

[0087] In addition, the severity of the crack located 50 m from Entrance B is 7 months, the remaining life of the structure is 8 months, the priority is second, the repair deadline is February 15, 2025, and an image of the crack is listed.

[0088] Furthermore, the severity of the crack located 5 m north of Entrance C is 8 months, the remaining life of the structure is 9 months, the priority is third, the repair deadline is March 20, 2025, and an image of the crack is listed.

[0089] In this way, for crack locations with the first to third highest priorities, the degree of danger is less than the remaining life of the structure, and they are listed as having a relatively high priority for repair.

[0090] On the other hand, the severity of the crack located 10 m south of Entrance D is 1 year and 6 months, the remaining life of the structure is 1 year, the priority is nth, no repair deadline is specified, and an image of the crack is listed.

[0091] For cracks with priority n, the risk level is greater than the remaining life of the structure, so there is no need to repair the crack. For this reason, no repair deadline is specified. Separate monitoring is required.

[0092] The Metropolitan Expressway is a relatively long structure (bridge) and currently has numerous cracks, specifically tens of thousands of cracks. The schedule lists priorities from 1 to 100. In the example shown in FIG. 9 , the information acquisition device 50 is equipped with a photographing device, photographs any discovered cracks, and transmits the photographed images in step 110, which are then received by the creation device 70 in step 122.

[0093] The creation unit 74D (the severity map creation unit 74D1 and the repair schedule creation unit 74D2) is an example of the "creation unit" of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0094] (Effect) As described above, this embodiment calculates the severity of the crack position based on the crack information of the cracked area of ​​the structure obtained, and therefore can provide an indicator for determining whether the crack truly requires repair.

[0095] In addition, the above embodiment calculates a severity value indicating a higher need for repair for crack locations with a higher severity value than crack locations with a lower severity value. Therefore, for cracks with a low severity value, the repair priority can be lowered, providing the option of not repairing them at all, thereby reducing effort and costs compared to repairing all cracks. This embodiment thus reduces repair costs while allowing funds to be spent on cracks that require repair more. Furthermore, this embodiment allows repair work to be completed quickly. Furthermore, since high-risk cracks, if left unattended, can have a significant impact on the strength and stability of the entire structure, prioritizing repair of these cracks can prevent large-scale damage and accidents. Furthermore, early repair of particularly high-risk cracks can improve the reliability and safety of the entire structure.

[0096] Furthermore, the above embodiment creates a severity map, which is an image that visualizes which crack locations in a structure should be repaired first, so that it is possible to grasp the locations that need repair and their order of priority.

[0097] Furthermore, by creating a severity map for each of multiple different structures of the same type, information on areas of that type of building where cracks are likely to occur and areas where they are unlikely to occur can be accumulated, making it possible to optimize the shape of the structure.

[0098] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of optimizing the shape of a structure.

[0099] For example, as shown in the upper part of Fig. 10, a certain structure 300 has a convex part 301 in the center, and when a load is applied to the right side of Fig. 10, a crack 302 occurs on the right side of the convex part 301. Therefore, the user can understand that the optimal shape for the structure 300 is one in which the convex part 301 in the center is deleted, as shown in the lower part of Fig. 10, and can provide the structure 300 with such an optimized shape.

[0100] Furthermore, as described above, since information on locations where cracks are likely to occur is accumulated for the same type of building, for example, in step 102 of Fig. 6, if a location where cracks are likely to occur is located, it is possible to set the system to check for fatigue cracks multiple times, which can lead to the optimization of monitoring locations.

[0101] Furthermore, the above embodiment creates a planning table that lists the crack locations in order of priority, allowing for planning which crack locations in a structure to begin repair work on, thereby facilitating planning. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9 , crack locations ranked first through third in priority have a risk level lower than the remaining life of the structure, and are therefore listed with a relatively high priority for repair. On the other hand, crack locations ranked n in priority have a risk level higher than the remaining life of the structure, and therefore do not require repair. Therefore, no repair deadline is specified. Therefore, repair work can be planned to prioritize the crack locations ranked first through third.

[0102] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, crack information is acquired from the information acquisition device 50, which is a robot capable of traveling on the wall surface of the structure 150. Therefore, the above embodiment can prevent the worker from falling off the wall surface they have climbed, thereby improving worker safety. Furthermore, this embodiment can reduce the cost and time required for setting up scaffolding or using aerial work vehicles, thereby improving convenience. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the information acquisition device 50 can easily access even places that are difficult for people to access or are dangerous. Therefore, this embodiment can perform comprehensive inspection of a structure.

[0103] [Modifications] (First Modification) In the above-described embodiment, the information acquisition device 50 is a remotely operated device such as a robot or an unmanned aerial vehicle, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, crack information may be acquired by laser scanning or photographing the structure from the ground with a camera.

[0104] (Second Modification) In the embodiment described above, the information acquisition device 50 and the creation device 70 are used separately, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. The information acquisition device may have the functions of both the information acquisition device 50 and the creation device 70. That is, the processor 54 of the information acquisition device also executes the severity map and repair schedule creation program 76P of FIG. 7. In this case, step 110 of FIG. 6 and step 122 of FIG. 7 are omitted. In the second modification, the information acquisition device is an example of the "information processing device" of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0105] (Other Modifications) In the above embodiment, an example in which the technology of the present disclosure is realized by a software configuration has been described, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and a device including an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) may also be applied. Furthermore, a combination of a hardware configuration and a software configuration may also be used.

[0106] The hardware resources that execute the processes described in the above embodiments (information acquisition process and severity map and repair schedule creation process) can be various processors, as listed below. Examples of processors include a CPU, which is a general-purpose processor that functions as a hardware resource that executes the image file creation process by executing software, i.e., a program. Examples of processors include dedicated electronic circuits, such as FPGAs, PLDs, or ASICs, which are processors with a circuit configuration designed specifically for executing specific processes. Each processor has built-in or connected memory, and each processor uses the memory to execute the image file creation process.

[0107] The hardware resource that executes each of the above processes may be configured with one of these various processors, or may be configured with a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a combination of multiple FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA).Furthermore, the hardware resource that executes each of the above processes may be a single processor.

[0108] As an example of a system configured with a single processor, first, one processor is configured by combining one or more CPUs and software, and this processor functions as a hardware resource that executes each of the above processes. Second, there is a system that uses a processor that realizes the functions of the entire system, including multiple hardware resources that execute each of the above processes, on a single IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, as typified by SoCs (System-on-a-chip). In this way, each of the above processes is realized using one or more of the various processors described above as hardware resources.

[0109] Furthermore, the hardware structure of these various processors can be, more specifically, an electronic circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor devices. Furthermore, the above processes are merely examples. Therefore, it goes without saying that unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the order of processes may be rearranged, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0110] The above-described description and illustrations are a detailed explanation of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure and are merely an example of the technology of the present disclosure. For example, the above description of the configuration, functions, actions, and effects is an explanation of an example of the configuration, functions, actions, and effects of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure. Therefore, it goes without saying that unnecessary parts may be deleted, new elements may be added, or replacements may be made to the above-described description and illustrations within the scope of the gist of the technology of the present disclosure. Furthermore, to avoid confusion and facilitate understanding of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure, the above-described description and illustrations omit explanations of common technical knowledge that do not require particular explanation to enable the implementation of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0111] [Notes] Based on the above disclosure, the following notes are proposed.

[0112] (Supplementary Note 1) An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires crack information of a crack location in a structure; and an output unit that outputs a severity of the crack location based on the acquired crack information. The information processing device also comprises a calculation unit that calculates the severity of the crack location based on the acquired crack information, and the output unit outputs the severity calculated by the calculation unit.

[0113] (Supplementary Note 2) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the severity is a value indicating that a cracked portion having a high severity value is in greater need of repair than a cracked portion having a low severity value.

[0114] (Supplementary Note 3) The information processing device described in Supplementary Note 1 or Supplementary Note 2, wherein the acquisition unit acquires crack information for each of a plurality of crack locations in the structure, and further includes a creation unit that creates at least one of a severity map of the crack locations in the structure and a planning table for repairing the plurality of crack locations based on the severity of each of the measured crack locations.

[0115] (Supplementary Note 4) The information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 3, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the crack information by receiving the crack information transmitted from a remote control device.

[0116] (Supplementary Note 5) An information processing method, wherein an acquisition unit acquires crack information of a crack location in a structure, and an output unit outputs a severity of the crack location based on the acquired crack information. Note that in the information processing method, a calculation unit calculates a severity of the crack location based on the acquired crack information, and an output unit outputs the severity calculated by the calculation unit.

[0117] (Supplementary Note 6) A program for causing a computer to function as an output unit that outputs the severity of a crack position based on crack information of a crack location in a structure.

[0118] (Supplementary Note 7) A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores the program of Supplementary Note 6.

[0119] 50 Information acquisition device 70 Creation device 86 Communication device 72 Computer 74 Processor 74B Calculation unit 74B3 Severity calculation unit 74D Creation unit 74D1 Severity map creation unit 74D2 Repair plan creation unit 76 NMV

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires crack information of a crack location in a structure; and an output unit that outputs the severity of the crack location based on the acquired crack information.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the severity is a value indicating that a cracked portion having a high severity value is in greater need of repair than a cracked portion having a low severity value.

3. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires crack information for each of a plurality of crack locations in the structure, and further comprises a creation unit that creates at least one of a severity map of the crack locations in the structure and a plan for repairing the plurality of crack locations based on the severity of each of the measured crack locations.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the crack information by receiving the crack information transmitted from a remote control device.

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