Robots and Vision Systems for Condition Assessment of Tensioned Cables

Cable structures, including cable-stayed, suspension bridges and suspended roofs, rely on the use of tensioned cables as the supporting system. The flexibility and typically low damping of such structural components make them prone to wind- and traffic-induced vibrations. Combined with harsh exposure to the elements, such structural elements often degrade at a higher-than-expected rate, requiring frequent inspection and assessment of installed tension to gauge their operational capacity.

Such inspections have been performed using climbing robots fitted with video cameras, but this strategy has been used mostly for visual inspection.

The present proposal aims to use the robotic system and camera as sensors, eventually with the capacity to apply loads, and to use localisation for precise characterisation of the instrumented sections, enabling identification of mode shapes and other cable parameters relevant to the corresponding condition.

The proposal covers a wide range of expertise, namely regarding automation and robotics, vision processing, and civil engineering, and has ample applications offering a very innovative approach in the assessment of cable structures.