Image Selection for Infrastructure Damage Verification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in managing and inspecting infrastructure structures like bridges and roads, where capturing images of the entire structure results in a large amount of data, making it difficult to efficiently identify and verify damaged portions without accumulating excessive data.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus and method that selects a primary image with the largest damaged portion and additional images to ensure comprehensive coverage with minimal overlap, reducing the overall data volume by prioritizing images that clearly show the damaged area and the entire structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large number of images are accumulated to enable post-verification of the entire structure, then the reliability of damage verification is improved, but the quantity of data to be accumulated becomes enormous
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and prioritizes only the most critical images for accumulation: (1) the image containing the largest damaged portion, and (2) a minimal set of additional images that cover the entire structure with minimal overlap. This selective extraction approach maintains verification reliability while dramatically reducing data quantity from potentially hundreds of images to just a few key images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different selection criteria to different regions of the structure: damaged portions are prioritized with the largest damaged area selected, while undamaged regions are covered by selecting additional images that minimize overlap. This local quality differentiation ensures that critical damage areas are clearly visible while still providing comprehensive structural coverage with minimal images.
2Quantity of substance
If only images showing damaged portions are kept to reduce data volume, then the quantity of accumulated data is reduced, but the ability to verify undamaged portions is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of accumulating all images or using threshold-based crack extraction, the patent applies partial action by selecting only the essential images needed for verification. It uses a coverage ratio threshold (e.g., 90% or 95%) to determine the minimal set of additional images required to cover the entire structure, avoiding excessive accumulation while ensuring comprehensive verification capability.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the largest damaged portion image is selected as the primary accumulated image, then the ease of detecting damaged portions is improved, but the coverage of the entire structure may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image selection process into two distinct parts: first, selecting the single image containing the largest damaged portion as the primary accumulated image for detailed damage detection; second, selecting multiple additional images to cover the remaining areas of the entire structure. This segmentation ensures both excellent damaged portion detectability and comprehensive structural coverage.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An information processing apparatus includes: a storage unit that stores data of a plurality of images captured of a structure at positions changed relative to the structure and data of a three-dimensional model indicating a three-dimensional shape of the structure; and a processing unit that selects an image containing the largest image of a damaged portion in the structure as a first accumulated image to be accumulated from images in each of which the damaged portion is imaged among the plurality of images, and performs a selection process of selecting two or more second accumulated images to be accumulated from among the plurality of images except the first accumulated image such that regarding an imaging range that is not covered by the first accumulated image in the three-dimensional model, an imaging range which overlaps between a plurality of the second accumulated images is reduced, and a coverage ratio of the imaging range in the three-dimensional model with the selected two or more second accumulated images and the first accumulated image is equal to or more than a predetermined value.