THE University of Strathclyde has received funding to develop an online platform for remote building inspection.
The six-month project has received £35,000 from the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre’s i-Con Challenge, which is an initiative designed to find ‘rapid, impact-focused’ solutions to current challenges in construction.
The Glasgow-based university said that the platform will help enable the management and monitoring of the construction phase of buildings while also improving productivity and quality, with fewer defects in the long term.
The aim of the project is to introduce ‘novel, state-of-the-art’ algorithms for defect detection and sizing in image data through an intelligent combination of deep learning algorithms, traditional image processing techniques and VR interfaces.
The university said that the platform will create a 3D ‘immersive’ environment of a building which will limit the need for quantity surveyors and health and safety inspectors to be physically present.
The project proposes a framework for integration of methodologies and tools including virtual reality and digital photogrammetry to collect real-time data that support automated decision making.
Dr Andrew Agapiou, senior lecturer in the department of architecture and the lead researcher on the project, commented, “The ability to accurately detect errors and defects in remote and hard-to-access buildings has significant value for the organisations.
