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Autonomous robotic system for tunnel structural inspection and assessment

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Abstract

This paper presents a robotic platform, capable of autonomous tunnel inspection, developed under ROBO-SPECT European union funded research project. The robotic vehicle consists of a robotized production boom lift, a high precision robotic arm, advanced computer vision systems, a 3D laser scanner and an ultrasonic sensor. The autonomous inspection of tunnels requires advanced capabilities of the robotic vehicle and the computer vision sub-system. The robot localization in underground spaces and on long linear paths is a challenging task, as well as the mm accurate positioning of a robotic tip installed on a five-ton crane vehicle. Moreover, the 2D and 3D vision tasks, which support the inspection process, should tackle with poor and variable lighting conditions, low textured lining surfaces and the need for high accuracy. This contribution describes the final robotic vehicle and the developments as designed for concrete lining tunnel inspection. Results from the validation and benchmarking of the system are also included following the final tests at the operating Egnatia Motorway tunnels in northern Greece.

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Notes

  1. http://www.genielift.com/en/products/boom-lifts/articulating-booms-electric/z3020n/index.htm.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to the above described results has received funding from the EC FP7-ICT project ROBO-SPECT (Contract no. 611145). Authors would like to thank all partners within the ROBO-SPECT consortium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, Athens, Greece

    Konstantinos Loupos, Anastasios D. Doulamis, Christos Stentoumis, Eftychios Protopapadakis, Konstantinos Makantasis, Nikolaos D. Doulamis & Angelos Amditis

  2. AIRBUS DS, Elancourt, France

    Philippe Chrobocinski

  3. Universidad Carlos III De Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Juan Victores, Roberto Montero, Elisabeth Menendez & Carlos Balaguer

  4. ROBOTNIK AUTOMATION SLL, Valencia, Spain

    Rafa Lopez, Miquel Cantero & Roman Navarro

  5. Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems, CNR, Bologna, Italy

    Alberto Roncaglia & Luca Belsito

  6. RISA SICHERHEITSANALYSEN GMBH, Berlin, Germany

    Stephanos Camarinopoulos

  7. Ecole Nationale Des Ponts Et Chaussees, Paris, France

    Nikolaos Komodakis & Praveer Singh

Authors
  1. Konstantinos Loupos
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  2. Anastasios D. Doulamis
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  3. Christos Stentoumis
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  4. Eftychios Protopapadakis
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  8. Philippe Chrobocinski
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  9. Juan Victores
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  11. Elisabeth Menendez
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  12. Carlos Balaguer
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  13. Rafa Lopez
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  15. Roman Navarro
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  16. Alberto Roncaglia
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  17. Luca Belsito
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  18. Stephanos Camarinopoulos
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  19. Nikolaos Komodakis
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  20. Praveer Singh
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Correspondence to Konstantinos Loupos.

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Loupos, K., Doulamis, A.D., Stentoumis, C. et al. Autonomous robotic system for tunnel structural inspection and assessment. Int J Intell Robot Appl 2, 43–66 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41315-017-0031-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41315-017-0031-9

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