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The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) mandates biannual bridge inspections to assess the condition of all bridges in the United States. These inspections are recorded in the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) and the respective state’s databases to manage, study, and analyze the data. As FHWA specifications become more complex, inspections require more training and field time. Recently, element-level inspections were added, assigning a condition state to each minor element in the bridge. To address this new requirement, a machine-aided bridge inspection method was developed using artificial intelligence (AI) to assist inspectors. The proposed method focuses on the condition state assessment of cracking in reinforced concrete bridge deck elements. The deep learning-based workflow integrated with image classification and semantic segmentation methods is utilized to extract information from images and evaluate the condition state of cracks according to FHWA specifications. The new workflow uses a deep neural network to extract information required by the bridge inspection manual, enabling the determination of the condition state of cracks in the deck. The results of experimentation demonstrate the effectiveness of this workflow for this application. The method also balances the costs and risks associated with increasing levels of AI involvement, enabling inspectors to better manage their resources. This AI-based method can be implemented by asset owners, such as Departments of Transportation, to better serve communities.
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Evaluating Human Expert Knowledge in Damage Assessment Using Eye Tracking: A Disaster Case Study
The rising frequency of natural disasters demands efficient and accurate structural damage assessments to ensure public safety and expedite recovery. Human error, inconsistent standards, and safety risks limit traditional visual inspections by engineers. Although UAVs and AI have advanced post-disaster assessments, they still lack the expert knowledge and decision-making judgment of human inspectors. This study explores how expertise shapes human–building interaction during disaster inspections by using eye tracking technology to capture the gaze patterns of expert and novice inspectors. A controlled, screen-based inspection method was employed to safely gather data, which was then used to train a machine learning model for saliency map prediction. The results highlight significant differences in visual attention between experts and novices, providing valuable insights for future inspection strategies and training novice inspectors. By integrating human expertise with automated systems, this research aims to improve the accuracy and reliability of post-disaster structural assessments, fostering more effective human–machine collaboration in disaster response efforts.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2123343
- PAR ID:
- 10532632
- Publisher / Repository:
- MDPI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Buildings
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2075-5309
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2114
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14072114
